


Story of Dreams

by hedaisabella



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-09-23 20:17:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 42,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9674417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hedaisabella/pseuds/hedaisabella
Summary: ''On the night of your 17th birthday, you dream the most special dream ever. You dream the Dream. The Dream shows you a little bit of your future. It can be of something that will happen very soon, or something that will happen in a couple of years,'' the father tells his young daughter. The daughter whose biggest dream is to go to the Earth.On her 17th birthday, Clarke, just like everyone else has or will, dreamed a part of her future. The Dream has shown her things she wished she never knew. But she knows that nothing she can do will change her fate. She knows nothing can change the things she saw in her Dream, no matter how much she wished something could.A clexa fanfic written by me, a clexa fangirl. Descriptions aren't my forte please bear with me.Originally posted on my wattpad account (arianator_)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted this on wattpad, but decided to post it here as well :)  
> My name is Isabella, idk if you care but yeah

**Prologue**

A three-year-old girl sits in her father's lap. The girl's blonde locks are messy, her pink , fluffy pajama's too large for her small body. Her favorite plush animal, Horny, a rhino that – to her parents' dismay – was named after its most prominent feature, the horns, sits in her lap, squeezed tightly by tiny hands.

''Do we all dream, daddy?'' the girl asks. Her father nods. ''We do. Every night. Sometimes we don't remember, but we dream every night,'' he says. ''Then what so s-special about the Dream?'' the girl asks, having some difficulty pronouncing the word 'special'. ''Ah, you're asking me to tell you the Story of Dreams again?'' her father asks. The girl nods. ''Okay, here we go. Again. For the fifth time this week. Do you remember anything I tell you?'' her father laughed, but bright blue eyes stared up at him expectantly. Her father sighed, but smiled at his daughter.

''Okay. Everyone has birthdays, right?''

''No, not Tommy, he say he never celebrate birthday!''

''Yes, but he was born on the 29th of February. His parents do give him a cake and presents every year, though.''

''What's a Febrewy?''

''It's a month. Forget it. Okay, so, apart from Tommy, we all have birthdays, right?''

The young girl nods.

''Now, I know every birthday is special, but your 17th birthday, might just be the most special birthday. You know why? Because on the night of your 17th birthday, you dream the most special dream ever. You dream the Dream. The Dream shows you a little bit of your future. It can be of something that will happen very soon, or something that will happen in a couple of years. Now, for me, nothing big was shown in my Dream, as goes for most people of my age and older, because we're all here on the Ark. But for you, it might show you something big. You are the first generation that might be eligible to go planet Earth,'' the father explained to his daughter. He was aware that she probably wouldn't understand most of the words, but he had told the story a thousand times, he was sure she got the most of it by now.

The little girl yawned. ''What do you say, Clarke, bed time?'' her father asked. Clarke nodded. ''With Horny?'' she asked. Her father internally cringed. ''Sure, love. With the rhino.''

*

The same girl, now ten years old, sits next to her best friend, Wells, looking at the Earth. Clarke loved the Earth. ''What do you hope your Dream will show you?'' Clarke asked her best friend as she drew what she imagined the Earth would look like. ''I hope it shows me with my parents and you with yours on the Ark playing hide and seek,'' Wells answered. ''You'd wanna stay on the Ark?'' Clarke asked. ''Yes, where else would we go?'' ''Earth, dummy! We'd go to Earth! And we'd explore the Earth and I'd fall in love with someone there and we'd build a house like the books tell us to and we swim in the river and dance in the rain. I hope for the Earth,'' Clarke gushed happily. Wells held back a frown and instead smiled at his best friend. He hoped she would fall in love with him, like he had with her, but he knew he would still be her best friend if that wasn't the case. ''I'd go with you, to the Earth,'' he said. Clarke grinned widely. ''You would? Great! Oh, we're gonna make the best of it! We will, Wells. We'll go to Earth one day and it will be better than what I imagine,'' Clarke promised her friend. Wells nodded. ''I don't doubt you,'' he said. And he never would. Clarke would go places, he was sure of it. And he'd never doubt her decisions.

*

Clarke was now sixteen and she was sure, absolutely certain, that there was nothing on the Ark she hated more than the Ark itself. She felt trapped. She had no friends besides Wells, who wasn't fun to hang around with lately. He was acting weird and kept flirting with Clarke, which was weird, because he was like a brother to her. A brother she knew she'd never have. You weren't allowed more than one child on the Ark. If you did, you'd get floated and the child would go to prison. She had heard the story of the Blakes. Bellamy was an annoying, stuck up pain in the ass, but he loved his little sister, Octavia. He had begged the guards to lock him up instead of his sister, because she had been locked up all her life, but they wouldn't have it. He lost his job as a guard and now cleaned the cafeteria and toilets.

He was allowed to visit his sister once a month, but she had been locked up for three months now and Bellamy had never visited her. Clarke had. Not intentionally, but one day she was walking around the Ark to get her mind off of things, and she ended up near the prison cells. A guard and friend of Bellamy had stopped her and had begged her to visit Octavia, to keep her company, even if just for a little bit. Clarke had agreed to this, she didn't have anything better to do, anyway. At first, Octavia hated her. Clarke didn't take it personally, even though taking it personally was probably a normal reaction to being told to float yourself. Instead, Clarke kept talking. She talked about everything. She told Octavia the Story of Dreams, even though she already knew it. Everyone knew it. Octavia always wondered what her Dream would bring. That is how Clarke and Octavia discovered they actually had something to talk about. They both hated the Ark and, more than anything, wanted to go to the Earth. So that is what they talked about. That is what they talked about for eleven months, until Clarke's birthday.

Until Clarke's Dream.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I suck at summaries but let's pretend this is a very good summary even though there is literally no summary okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy! Here's chapter 1 :)  
> I'm still new to ao3, so sorry if i mess shit up sometimes w chapter title and stuff  
> I usually never update so fast, but since i already have 11 chapters written on wattpad, I decided to just post chapter one :)  
> Xx Bella

**Chapter 1**

''Is it true, Dad?''

 A crying Clarke made her way into her father's office. ''Is what true?'' ''Are we dying, Dad?'' Clarke cried. ''Clarke, lower your voice. What did you dream, honey? What was your Dream?'' ''Answer me, Dad. Is the Ark dying?'' Clarke demanded. ''There is a system failure on the Ark that means that in less than six months we'll be out of oxygen, yes,'' Jake sighed. ''But can't you fix it?'' Clarke asked. ''Not this, honey. I've tried. But this isn't a glitch, it's a system failure,'' Jake sighed. That is when Clarke couldn't take it anymore. ''You can't tell anyone, Dad. You can't,'' she sobbed. ''Too late, I already told your mother. Why wouldn't I tell anyone? The people deserve to know,'' Jake said as he tried to comfort his daughter. Clarke's breath caught in her throat. ''Y-You told mom?'' ''Yes, why? What is—'' ''Mom is going to kill you.'' ''What? No, she wasn't mad at all, honey. She—'' ''I mean the literal sense of the phrase, Dad. Mom is going to rat you out and get you floated. She is literally going to kill you!'' Clarke yelled. ''Sweetie, honey, please, tell me. What exactly did you dream?'' Jake asked as he sat himself and his daughter down. Clarke took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

''I didn't see you get killed in my Dream, but I saw myself telling the entire story of what happened to a girl with the strangest clothes and makeup. She had a weird sticker on her forehead, too. But somehow she was still beautiful. Anyway, I told her everything, weird things, too. Weird stuff I'd never do. We were on the Earth, dad. She was an Earthling. A real one, she survived. But anyway, we were on the Earth, and I told her about how I saw you get floated, how mom betrayed you. Us. I hate her,'' Clarke finished in a broken whisper. ''Who? The girl?'' Jake asked. ''No, Dad. Mom. I hate Mom,'' Clarke answered. Jake didn't know how to respond to that. 

''I will tell her not to tell anyone,'' he offered. ''You can't change what happens, Dad. It's my Dream. You told me, my fate can not be changed. What the Dream tells you, will happen. I don't want to lose you. I _can't_ lose you,'' Clarke said, tears streaming down her face. Clarke had never been one to cry much. She didn't have a reason to, so she never really did. She didn't know a person could hold so many tears. She was sure that if the Ark had a water problem, it could be fixed with her tears. But no, the Ark didn't have a water problem. It had an oxygen problem, slowly killing them all, starting with her father. And that could not be fixed with her tears. If anything, it only made it worse. So Clarke sucked it up, pushed herself away from her father and ignored her mother for about two weeks. But then it happened, and Clarke couldn't ignore her mother any longer.

*****

Two weeks after telling her father about both his and her faith, Clarke got the news. Or more like, the news loudly knocked on her door before inviting itself in and forcefully dragging her father away from the TV, where he and Clarke were watching an old football match from 2016. Clarke's mother rushed in from another room and cried as she watched the scene unfold in front of her eyes. Clarke cried as her father got dragged away, out of their house. ''Don't worry, Clarke. It's going to be fine,'' he called out before the door closed, even though they both knew it wasn't. It wasn't going to be okay.

''This is your fault!'' Clarke turned to her mother. Abby gasped. ''What are you talking about?'' she asked. ''You told Thelonious, you told him! You betrayed Dad! You betrayed me,'' Clarke cried. ''Do you think I wanted this to happen?'' Abby yelled back. ''You should've known! You should've known that this would happen! Dad was planning to tell everyone, you should have known that Thelonious would never approve of that.'' Clarke sobbed. Not only had her mother taken away her Dad, she had also taken away Clarke's Mom. All Clarke had left now was a mother, something completely different from a Mom. Anyone could be a mother, but being a Mom was something so special. Something Abby wasn't to her daughter anymore.

Abby stepped forward, trying to reach for her daughter, who flinched away. ''Don't touch me, Abby. I hate you,'' she said, before storming out, going to the one person she could talk to about all this.

*****

Octavia sat in the corner of her cell, her long, dark hair in a ponytail, her defined jaw tense, biting her nails. She was obviously thinking about something. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock, followed by a guard stepping inside. Octavia knew the guard. His name was Wick, he was friends with Bellamy. ''Octavia, you have a visitor,'' he said in a kind voice. Octavio nodded and got up, following Wick to the visitor's area. It was guarded by four guards standing on each side of the square room. Octavia looked around, looking for her visitor, and saw her. Blond messy hair, something that had never changed, and a blue jacket, nervously tapping her fingers against the table, left leg making a jittery movement. There was obviously something on her mind.

''Clarke,'' Octavia said as she approached the girl. Clarke jumped up and tightly hugged Octavia. It wasn't until then that Octavia noticed she was crying. ''Hey, hey. What's wrong?'' she asked as she sat the two of them down. ''M-My Dad. My mother betrayed us. H-He's gonna get floated,'' Clarke managed to say between sobs. ''What? Clarke, what happened?'' Octavia asked. Clarke took a few deep breaths, calming herself down, before she began talking. She told Octavia all about her Dream, including the facts she hadn't told her Dad – like the fact that the green eyed girl was holding Clarke's hand and stroking the back of it with her thumb – and the girl paid attention to every word Clarke spoke. She told Octavia about her father, about the system failure, and thank God Octavia was smart enough to figure out what that meant for all of them, because Clarke did not think she could take telling someone else that they were all going to die. Clarke told Octavia everything, even something she had failed to admit to anyone – including herself – yet: the fact that she was scared to death.

''I'm terrified, O. I can't lose my Dad. And don't tell me I won't, we both know I will. And I'm terrified of going to the ground. I have always dreamed of going to the ground, but not under these circumstances, O. Not without my Dad, not when it's the only option we have left,'' Clarke finished her story crying.

''We'll figure something out, Clarke. I won't tell you we'll change this, I won't tell you that we'll be able to save your Dad, because we can't. But I promise you to help make this more bearable for you. You said your Dad had a video, right? That he was going to hack the system and play the video on every screen, right? Get that video. Do what your father wanted to do and publish it. The people deserve to know. You're not eighteen yet, so you can't get floated. And besides, everything you do from this point, will bring you one step closer to your fate. One step closer to a certain green eyed Earthling,'' Octavia said, a little smirk at the end. Clarke blushed, but nodded. 

''You're right. Nothing I can do now will get in the way of me and my fate. It's meant to be. I'll do it. I'll publish my Dad's video. All I need to know is _how_ to do just that,'' Clarke said, frowning when she realized that she had no idea how to hack the entire Ark and get the video to play on every single screen. ''Do you know Jacapo Sinclair?'' Octavia asked. Clarke nodded. ''He and my Dad used to work together,'' she said. ''There is this girl that works with him. Raven Reyes. Have you heard of her?'' Octavia asked. Clarke shook her head. ''She's my... acquaintance, I guess you could say. She can help you. She'll probably be a bit wary of you at first, but that's Raven. Tell her I told you to go her, she owes me. She'll help you out,'' Octavia told Clarke. Clarke nodded.

''Thanks, O. But wait, how do you know her? No offense, but you haven't exactly gone out much.''

''Her boyfriend is in here. An annoying piece of crap he is. It's Finn, the Spacewalker. But anyway, I overheard them talking and figured out that it wasn't actually _Finn_ spacewalking, it was Raven. So, I did what I do best, I confronted them. Raven is eighteen and she would have been floated, so Finn took the blame. Anyway, I basically know Raven's biggest secret, and you know what it's like on the Ark. Rat someone else that committed a bigger crime than you out, and you're free. I could have done that. So she begged me. She literally _begged_ me not to tell anyone. And I said I wouldn't, but that I expected something in return. I didn't know what at the time, so I told her I'd get back to her. See this as me getting back to her,'' Octavia explained.

''Holy shit. I wish I was in prison, seems a lot more exciting than life outside of prison,'' Clarke joked. Octavia grinned. ''This is so much better than what my life was like before. I make friends here, I get to walk around inside of the prison area where I meet other people, it's amazing. I never would have told on Raven anyway, but it's nice to be owed a big favor by someone, it comes in handy at times like these,'' Octavia said. Clarke smiled. ''Thanks, O. I owe you,'' she said. ''Let's not start owing me again. Now off you go. You have a secret to spill.''

*

''Raven Reyes?'' ''No, this is Seagull Seyes,'' a dark haired girl said, not looking up from whatever she was doing. ''I'm Clarke Griffin,'' Clarke spoke. ''And I'm busy,'' Raven grunted. Clarke sighed. The girl was already getting on her nerves. ''Octavia sent me,'' she sighed. At this, Raven looked up. ''I owe her,'' she said. Clarke nodded. ''I know, that's why I'm here. It's time for you to pay her back,'' she said. Raven nodded. ''What does she need?'' ''She wants you to help me, to, in turn, help all of us,'' Clarke explained. ''And why should I believe you?'' ''Because I'm here and know of your and Octavia's agreement? I know the truth, too, you know,'' Clarke said. Raven's eyes widened. ''Please don't- please don't tell anyone, I can not-'' ''Relax, all I need from you is your help,'' Clarke said. Raven nodded. ''What is it you need?'' she asked. Clarke sighed.

''I need you to hack the entire Ark for me,'' she said. Raven looked at her skeptically. ''And you need me to do the most stupid thing ever, because...'' ''Because my Dad found out that the Ark is dying, told my mother, who told the Chancellor, who decided to float my father and the people deserve to know that in six months time we will all be dead. That's why,'' Clarke said. 

Raven gulped. ''Well, that is quite something,'' she said after a while. ''Does this have anything to do with you crying and running like one of those stereotypical, pre-nuclear war teenage girls this morning?'' she then asked. Clarke frowned. ''How- Did you see me?'' she asked. Raven nodded. ''They were filming footage for Unity Day, I was there, you walked right in front of the camera. You just turned seventeen, right?'' Raven asked. Clarke nodded. ''Yes, why?'' ''No reason, just that basically everyone in a five planet radius heard you scream about two weeks ago, on the night of your birthday. I'm guessing your Dream wasn't a pleasant one?'' ''Well, I found out my father was going to die through that Dream, so no. And I was on the ground, so that was confusing,'' Clarke told Raven.

''Wait, you were on the ground?'' Raven asked, wide eyed. Clarke nodded.

''That makes you number hundred.''

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> again, i suck at summaries  
> also I am new to ao3 so if i mess up by adding the same note to every chapter i am sorry

**Chapter 2**

Clarke anxiously looked around. She had never done something like sneaking away. She never wanted to disappoint her parents. But with her father's fate clear and her mother nothing more than a housemate she ignored, she didn't feel as guilty to be sneaking out. So here she was, Raven and Bellamy by her side.

''Can you please tell me why we-'' ''Shut up, crybaby. You'll see son enough,'' Raven interrupted Bellamy, who sighed in response. ''I just-'' ''Bellamy, for the last time, shut the fuck up. Before I go all Reyes on you.'' ''What's that supposed to mean?'' ''Bellamy just shut the hell up. Raven know what's she's doing.'' ''Thanks, Blondie.'' ''Don't call me that.'' ''Dang it, here I am, thinking we were at the nickname stage of friendship, with you giving me a nickname and all,'' Raven mumbled. ''I don't recall giving you a nickname,'' Clarke said. ''I do. Seagull Seyes, remember?'' ''Yeah, you gave yourself that wonderful nickname,'' Clarke shook her head. Raven ignored her. ''We're here,'' she said instead.

Clarke looked up, to find herself in front of a huge locked door. ''Raven, something about the 'staff only, keep out' signs is telling me we shouldn't be here,'' she said. ''Relax. You worry too much. You'll end up having wrinkles at the age of twenty if you continue living like that,'' Raven told the girl. ''Besides, I am staff. As far as the people in charge are concerned, there is something in this room that requires the help of the one and only Raven Reyes. And 99 other people, but they don't know that.'' ''What do you mean, 99 other people?'' Bellamy spoke up. ''I mean people, 99 of them. So 99 persons. That is eleven times nine people. That is-'' ''Don't be smart with me. Are there actually 99 people in there?'' Bellamy asked. ''No, 97. You and Blondie make 99. And then me, 100. Enough about that, let's go in.''

Raven entered a five digit code on a little screen next to the door and they opened. ''This will be the way to our meeting room, you better remember the code. It is 20100. Easy to remember, the letter 'T' is the twentieth letter of the alphabet, and then 100. The 100, 'cause there's a hundred of us,'' Raven explained as they stepped into a dark room. The doors closed behind them and Raven switched on the light. ''A hundred of us, us being what exactly?'' Bellamy asked. ''People whose Dream shows them on the ground,'' Raven answered. ''Blondie, help me up,'' she then added. ''What?'' ''Come stand here, let me sit on your shoulders. I need to open that hatch and I don't know if you noticed, but I'm not exactly tall,'' Raven said, pointing to a hatch above them.

Clarke moved to crouch in front of Raven, who climbed on her shoulders. Clarke stood up straight and Raven managed to open the hatch, after experiencing some difficulty. '' Okay I'm going in there, Clarke, I'll help you up, Bellamy, you're on your own,'' Raven said. ''I get the gut feeling you don't like me very much,'' Bellamy told the dark haired girl. ''I get the feeling your gut feeling is right,'' she answered, before lifting up, through the opening in the ceiling, into the ventilation shaft. She then turned to lift Clarke into the tunnel with her. The twio crawled a bit further into the tunnel to give Bellamy the space he needed. He had no trouble getting up and felt the need to remind the girls that he could have easily opened the hatch. ''Shut up, this was bonding time. See it like a trust exercise,'' Raven said, crawling her way through the tunnel. ''Does Clarke feel the same way?'' ''Clarke does.'' ''Apparently I do.'' ''You do.'' ''Okay.''

''God, keeping quiet clearly isn't your forte,'' a distant voice was heard. ''Is that... Is that Octavia?'' Bellamy asked. Raven nodded. ''Yes. You failed her as a brother, you know that? You didn't even come visit her on her 17th birthday to ask her about her Dream. Octavia is one of the 100,'' Raven told Bellamy as she tried to open another hatch. ''O, help us out,'' she called through the hatch. ''Murphy, open the hatch,'' Octavia's voice was heard from the other side.

Some struggles were heard and then the hatch opened. ''O, trust exercise!'' Raven called out before jumping out of the hatch, hoping Octavia would catch her. She did. ''Impromptu trust exercises are your thing, aren't they?'' Clarke asked as she slowly lowered herself, to be helped to the ground my Octavia and Raven. Bellamy was on his own again.

Clarke looked around and saw nearly a hundred people staring at her. ''Are these all imprisoned people?'' she asked. ''That's one way to call us, but the 100 sounds much cooler,'' a boy Clarke knew to be John Murphy said. Clarke recognized a few, like Monty, Jasper and the young girl Charlotte, but there were many faces she did not know. ''As promised, I bring to you our leader,'' Raven told the group. ''Leader? Me? Okay, so let's begin by-'' ''Not you, Bellamy. Blondie over here. Clarke Griffin, our leader,'' Raven interrupted. Bellamy blushed and Clarke could only blink stupidly. ''Leader? Rae, I don't know if I can do this,'' she whispered to the girl. ''That's okay, I know you can. Just trust me. See this as another trust exercise,'' Raven winked, encouragingly patting her shoulder. She turned back to the expectant people around them. ''Okay, we only have one hour before y'all have to be back in your cells. One hour until the daily routine is completed and the surveillance camera's are back on. So let's make this quick. Clarke,'' she said.

''Okay, to be honest, I have no idea what is going on. All Raven told me was that we all dreamed that we were on the ground. That is saying something. Now, I do not know how or why that is, but I am guessing it has something to do with the system failure my Dad discovered,'' Clarke told the crowd. Low murmurs came in response. ''What system failure?'' one guy spoke up. ''I wish I could say this nicely, but there is no way to soften blow. In six months, if not less, the Ark will be out of oxygen. In other words, everyone on the Ark will be dead,'' Clarke answered.

Gasps were heard, some panicked whispers, but other than that, it remained fairly calm. Clarke guessed it had something to do with the fact that they knew they were going to the ground. But the same didn't go for all of their loved ones on the Ark. Some were beginning to realize that. ''We'll be on the ground, but what about those on the Ark? Is there nothing we can do for them?'' the same boy as earlier spoke up. ''What's your name?'' Clarke asked. ''My last name's Miller. That's what everyone calls me,'' he said. ''Well, Miller. I have no idea. I can think of two reasons we're gonna be on the ground. Either we get sent there, or we are the last survivors after something happened to the Ark. The thing is, we don't know when we're going to be on the ground. If it is in six months, or six days, or six weeks, it could be anything. So I suggest-'' ''My 18th birthday is in three weeks,'' John Murphy interrupted. ''Congrats, now can we-'' ''No, I mean, my birthday is in three weeks. In my Dream, I remember saying that I would have been floated that day, had we not been sent to the ground.'' When no one spoke up, Murphy said,

''We'll be on the Earth in three weeks.''


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I'm gonna do an attempt at a summary  
> Stuff happens  
> that's it that's the summary  
> jk  
> Raven and Clarke finish what Jake was working on, and Clarke is not nervous at all (spoiler: she is). The council is mad. Raven and Clarke face the consequences with a smile on their faces.

**Chapter 3**

''Raven, are you sure you-'' ''Clarke, I swear to God. I know how to do this. I am trained in hacking, do not tell me how to do this when you can't even remember one fucking password,'' Raven snapped. The two had been awake for nearly 40 hours and it was starting to show. If not my the messy hair and bags under their eyes, than definitely by their snappy behavior. ''You,re right. Sorry,'' Clarke sighed. ''It's fine,'' Raven grunted, continuing to angrily type long codes and other - to Clarke - incomprehensible things.

It had been three days since Murphy had informed them all that they would be on the ground in three weeks, and to say the 100 were all scared, would be an understatement. They were beyond scared. But more than scared, they were excited. Most of the 100 had nothing to lose, they were to be held in jail until the age of 18, then a trial would follow, and then they would most likely be floated. Even thought most of their crimes were petty, they were crimes, and criminals were expendable.

Raven was currently working on hacking the Ark. The plan was to show the video in two hours, at noon, when everyone was on lunch break. Clarke was sitting next to Raven, but she had no idea what she actually was doing there. She had already given Raven the flash drive with her father's video message. Her father. He was to be floated tomorrow. Clarke didn't know if she would be able to watch, especially not without the comfort of her mother. She would love for Wells to be there, but she hadn't heard much of him. She knew he was one of the 100, but since his father was Chancellor Jaha, Raven preferred to keep him away from the meetings they held. All he knew was that Clarke had somehow come across someone else that also dreamed they'd be on the ground. She just hoped she could notify him on time.

''Clarke, don't,'' Raven spoke without looking up. ''What?'' ''Your leg is bouncing. You're worrying again. Don't. We don't want you to get wrinkles on that pretty face before you meet your green-eyed Earth Princess, do we?'' ''What- How did you know?'' ''Octavia,'' Raven answered. ''Fuck you two,'' Clarke muttered. ''I thought you would want to save that for your Earthling, but if it's what you truly wish, I'm sure I could arrange something. Friday, at noon, perhaps.'' ''Fuck you,'' Clarke said. ''Clarke, you gotta be clear, do you want to fuck me and Octavia or just me?'' ''Raven shut up,'' Clarke whined. Raven only laughed.

*

''Done,'' Raven exclaimed, waking Clarke from her slumber. ''What?'' she asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. ''I'm in. And we still have six minutes. Gimme the flash drive, Blondie,'' Raven said. ''Tell me what to do,'' Clarke answered. ''What?'' ''Tell me what to do. I don't want to drag you into this mess. Tell me what to do, how to get the video to play on every screen, and I'll do it,'' Clarke explained. ''Clarke, it doesn't matter what we do anymore. Our fate won't change. We'll be on the ground in three weeks, anyway. We could kill the fucking Chancellor - just a joke, don't shoot me - and we'll still be on the ground in three weeks. It doesn't matter what we do. And I want to do this,'' Raven assured Clarke. Clarke hesitated, then nodded. ''Okay. You're right. Hurry up, though. We've got four minutes,'' she agreed. Raven held her hand out and Clarke gave her the flash drive. ''Operation Tell People About Their Nearly Inevitable Death By Means Of A Video Of A Man That-'' ''Raven, shut up and broadcast the damn video,'' Clarke interrupted. Raven nodded, stuck the flash drive in her laptop and started typing. After about a minute, she spoke up.

''We'll be live in 3, 2, 1... We're live.''

*

''Outrageous. The people were not supposed to know. Abigail, I must say I expected more from your daughter,'' Marcus Kane, a member of the council, spoke up. ''You can't blame her, Marcus. Her father is to be floated after being told on by her mother. I'd finish his job, too, if I were her,'' Diana Sidney spoke up. ''Surely she knows the punishment for this kind of crime is Death,'' Kane argued. ''No doubt about that, looking at her father's fate. The child is seventeen. She has had her Dream. Perhaps she know more than we want her to know,'' the Chancellor, Thelonius Jaha, spoke up. Abigail Griffin could not hold back any longer. ''You are talking about my daughter's fate as if I am not here. Thelonius, you are talking about my daughter as if that is all she is to you, nothing more than my daughter. She is your son's best friend. You are her godfather, Thelonius.''

Jaha looked up. ''I care for her, yes. But I will not favor her over others. She will have the same fate as the other delinquents. She will be sent to the ground,'' he spoke. ''Thelonius, you don't know if it's safe. None of us know if it is. You cannot do this,'' Abby begged. ''It is either this or Death along with her father, Abby. You choose.'' ''Along with her father? You mean float her? She isn't even eighteen yet!'' Abby argued. ''So the ground it is.'' ''What about the girl that was with her? Raven Reyes? She is eighteen,'' Kane spoke up. ''She is a mechanic. She might be needed on the ground. I am sending her with them,'' Jaha answered. Kane nodded. ''We should start preparing everything, then. We have seventeen days.''

*

Clarke and Raven walked next to each other, not feeling the slightest bit nervous. They knew it would all be okay. Four guards walked around them, all wondering how they were so calm when they were about to be locked in jail. ''How long till we get there?'' Raven complained. ''About ten more minutes. It's on the other side of the Ark,'' one guard answered. ''Hello from the other sideeeeee,'' Raven chanted. ''Quiet,'' the oldest guard ordered. ''C'mon, it's a classic. Hello, by Adele, released in 2015. Old but gold,'' Raven said. ''Rae, I don't think these people appreciate classic hits,'' Clarke said, trying to hold back laughter. Something about being sent to jail when they know they'll be more free than they have ever been in less than three weeks got the two girls in a very good mood.

About ten minutes later, they found themselves in front of the gate to the prison area. ''Home sweet home,'' Raven sighed out happily. The guard shot each other confused looks but decided to let it go. The youngest guard entered the code and the gate opened. A group of people were waiting there. ''Griffin! Reyes! Welcome to mi casa,'' Murphy exclaimed. ''Mi casa es su casa,'' Jasper added, grinning widely. ''Hey girls,'' Octavia greeted them happily. Clarke was about to run up to her, but a guard stopped her. ''Control first,'' was all he said, before dragging her to another room.

After the mandatory checks were done, the two were brought to their cell. ''You will be sharing a cell, but since you seem to share crimes as well, I don't think you mind. And if you do, I don't give a fuck,'' the oldest guard informed them. ''Damn, someone needs to get laid,'' Raven muttered under her breath so only Clarke could hear, who was having trouble contain her laughter. ''We'll be fine, sir,'' Clarke assured him. ''Oh, good. Now I can sleep in peace. Here I was, so worried that you wouldn't be fine,'' he sarcastically spoke. ''Hey, show a little respect. Her mother is in the council, you could be fired by this evening,'' Raven snapped at the guard, who chose to ignore her. He opened the door to their cell and pushed them in.

''You're allowed to walk the gray-floored area freely. Any other area is forbidden and will be punished.'' ''Ooh, what will you do, send us to jail?'' Raven mocked. Next thing she know, she's laying on the floor with a bloody nose. ''Rule number one, don't make fun of a guard,'' the oldest guard said before walking away, ordering the other guards to follow him. Clarke immediately rushed to Raven's side. ''Are you okay? What a dick! Does it hurt? Is it bleeding a lot? Let me see,'' she fussed. Raven sat up, leaning against the wall, and removed her hand from her nose. ''Gross, I'm covered in blood,'' she groaned. ''Let me see,'' Clarke said as she grabbed Raven's chin so she could see better. She gently touched Raven's nose. ''Does this hurt?'' she asked. Raven shook her head. ''Okay, I don't think it's broken, but it's gonna bruise. I hope you're not trying to impress anyone here,'' Clarke told the bleeding girl. ''I'm just gonna clean it, okay?''

Clarke pulled off her shirt and ripped a piece of it off. She walked to the little sink in the corner of their cell and wet the piece of cloth, before walking back and crouching over Raven, gently dabbing her nose.

''Wow, what did I just walk in on?''

An amused Octavia stood by the door, arms folded and eyebrows raised. ''That old guard with the stubble hit Raven after she mocked him. I'm just cleaning her nose and there was no first aid kit around,'' Clarke explained. ''Sure, hun. I would have said the same,'' Octavia chuckled. ''In my defense, he was easily agitated,'' Raven complained from her spot on the ground. ''You would be too, if two girls that are supposed to be experiencing the worst day of their life sing and laugh all the way to their prison cell, then continue to annoy the fuck out of you,'' Clarke chuckled. Raven shrugged. ''I guess you're right,'' she admitted.

''Clarke, as much as I enjoy seeing you like this, you might want to put a shirt on. This is not exactly the most private area.'' ''Hey Murphy,'' Raven greeted, waving at him. Clarke hastily put her shirt back on, that was now more of a crop top than a regular T-shirt. ''There isn't like, a dress code here or something, right?'' she asked her friends. ''No, just don't show up naked.'' ''Damn it, all of my plans, vanished into thin air,'' Raven spoke dramatically. ''How about we have our meeting, yeah? We already notified everyone, let's go,'' Octavia said.

*

''Well, since all of us but two, Bellamy and Wells, are in prison now, we can have these meetings more frequently. First and foremost, but I'm sure you are already aware of this, my father's video has been played on every single screen on the Ark. Everyone knows. This has resulted into a lot of panicked people, and it got us two here,'' Clarke said, pointing to herself and Raven. There were five other people present. These five people would each spread the information Clarke was giving them to another five. They would in turn continue to spread the information, until everyone was notified. This was the only way to have these meetings without raising too much suspicion.

''Now, I'm sure there are some of you that actually do care about people outside of our group. You're all probably wondering what will happen to them. Truth is, I don't know. But, my father will be floated tomorrow. I will be allowed out to say goodbye, and I will be allowed one support person. That person being Raven, who will place a little mic in the council's meeting room. I don't know if you noticed, but Raven's got lovely earrings. They are equipped with a little speaker, allowing us to hear what is being said during council meetings, that I know the schedule of. That way we will know what is going to happen. That's all for now, until our next meeting,'' Clarke finished.

The five left the room and Clarke turned to Octavia.

''I'm scared for tomorrow,'' she admitted. Octavia nodded. ''I know. I would be, too. I'm sorry that I can't change it, I wish I could. I wish I could change it all. You deserve happiness, Clarke, and we're one step closer to achieving that. Tomorrow is gonna be hard, I'm not going to deny that, but I'll be here for you, yeah? Always,'' she said, hugging Clarke tightly. Clarke couldn't stop the tears from falling, burying her head in her friend's shoulder. ''Thanks, O,'' she mumbled.

''Anytime, Clarke. Anytime.''


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake's execution.

**Chapter 4**

''Griffin.''

Clarke awoke groggily, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes to see Raven standing over her. ''Wha-'' she couldn't finish her sentence because she was interrupted by a yawn. Mornings were never really Clarke's thing.

''Time to get dressed,'' Raven said. It took a second for Clarke to realize what Raven said but then it hit her. Today was her father's execution day. ''Shh, I'll be with you all the time,'' Raven said before Clarke could even begin to ramble. She sighed. ''Thanks Rae.''

*

''Good luck, Clarke. We'll be here for you when you get back,'' Octavia told her friend as she hugged her tightly. ''Thanks, O.''

''Raven,'' Octavia continued. ''Octavia,'' Raven answered. ''Murphy,'' Murphy said. ''Rae, you better not get caught. I don't want anything to happen to you. Sure, no matter what you do, you'll go to the ground, but that doesn't mean they can't punish you,'' Octavia warned, ignoring Murphy. Raven nodded. ''Don't worry, O,'' she assured her friend. ''That's a stupid thing to say. I always worry,'' Octavia laughed.

''Ladies, time to go.''

A guard interrupted the girls' conversation. ''Good luck,'' Octavia called out one last time, watching as her friends were taken away.

*

''Clarke!'' a relieved Abby called out to her daughter. "Abigail," Clarke drawled out. "Clarke, stop acting so immature. I didn't do anything, I just-" "You did too much, Abby," Clarke says, before walking away, Raven following her. "Clarke, relax," the girl says, holding her best friend's hands tightly. Clarke relaxed after about a minute and Raven nodded.

"Good. Now, is there a bathroom in the council's room?" she asked. Clarke nodded. "Yes, there is." "Good. Guard? Yes, excuse me, guard," Raven tapped a guard's shoulder. "What is it?" "I think I just started my period. I don't want to be a burden, but could you take me to the bathroom? I don't want to leak all over," she lied. The guard gulped.

"Yes, sure. Through the council's room, door on the far right. I trust you don't need my help with your... issue?" "No, that's fine, thank you," Raven smiled. "Pussy, to scared to say 'period'," Raven muttered so only Clarke could hear, before walking away. The council's room was right next to the 'float area', as the Arkers called it.

Once inside, she checked to see if anyone was present. Once she was certain that she was alone, she quickly made her way over to the large conference table, quickly stuck the little microphone underneath it, and made her way to the bathroom. She really did have to pee.

Once she finished, she quickly returned to find Clarke standing alone in a corner, shooting daggers at her mother across the room. ''Hey there, sunshine,'' Raven greeted softly. ''Hey there, Seagull Seyes,'' Clarke managed to joke. ''How long do these things usually take? Why are we still waiting? Can't they just get it over with already?'' Clarke proceeded to ask, nervously biting her fingernails. ''I think they heard your complaints,'' Raven whispered, her eyes following a man that was being hold by two guards on each side.

''Dad!''

Before Raven knew it, Clarke was no longer by her side and was instead running up to her father's awaiting arms. ''Dad,'' she sobbed, hugging him tightly and burying her head in his shoulder, the way she always used to do when she was little and got a nightmare. ''I'm here, Princess, I'm here,'' her father whispered, stroking the back of her head in a soothing manner. ''Dad, please don't go,'' Clarke begged as she pulled away from the hug to look in her father's eyes. Somber eyes that held a thousand memories and a thousand promises. Memories of little Clarke and her father Earth gazing, wondering what could be down there. Memories of ten-year-old-Clarke asking her father everything about life and death, and her father always answering truthfully. Memories of teenage Clarke crying because she was scared that she would never find love on the Ark and her father that told her that she would find love, that everyone would be blessed to have Clarke love them. And promises, promises of cooking together on Saturday. Promises of love. Promises of never ending support. But there was one promise so prominent in his eyes right now. One promise that her father felt the need to say out loud.

''I'll always be with you.''

Clarke couldn't take it anymore, she broke down. There was only so much a teenage girl's shoulder could carry, and this was the limit. It seemed that she was everyone's shoulder to lean on, but she never had a shoulder to lean on, apart from her father's. And now he was taken away from her.

''Always isn't long enough if it ends today,'' Clarke whispered, she was scared her voice would break if she spoke any louder. But in the dead silent room, it was loud enough for everyone to hear. It was dead silent, but Clarke found all of it so loud, so consuming. She felt like it was choking her, wrapping itself around her throat, limiting her ability to breathe or speak. All she could do was shake her head as tears silently rolled down her cheeks. Jake could only look at his little girl helplessly. He knew that this was going to be a slow suffering. It was starting now, but who knew when it would end. Who knew when she would be over his death. He helplessly looked around, because for once, he too, was lost. For once, Jake had no idea how to comfort his daughter. Not when the only thing he could do, staying, was impossible. His eyes met those of a guard, who tapped his watch, looking annoyed. Jake understood that they had to hurry.

''Clarke,'' he said. ''Clarke, it's time to say goodbye.'' Clarke nodded, but all she wanted to do what scream 'no'.

''I love you, Dad.'' ''I love you, too, Princess,'' her father answered bringing her into one last hug, both of them crying in the other's arms. ''Have fun on the Earth,'' he whispered so quietly that she almost didn't hear it. ''I'll tell you all about it when my time comes,'' she answers. ''Let's hope I don't hear about it for a long time, then.''

They broke apart from the hug, and Clarke looked her father in the eyes.

''In peace may you leave the shore. In love may you find the next. Safe passage on your travels, until our final journey on the ground. May we meet again.''

Jake nodded. ''May we meet again.''

Clarke stepped away, slowly at first, but then she turned around and ran into Raven's arms. She couldn't look anymore. She couldn't look at her mother as she hugged her father. She couldn't look at her mother kissing her father. She couldn't look at her mother crying as if it wasn't all her fault. She just really couldn't look at her mother, and she didn't know if she ever could again. ''I wish I could change it all, Clarke. I truly wish I could,'' Raven whispered as she stroked her friend's back. The two hadn't know each other that long, but knowing that in three weeks time you would be stuck on the ground with each other and watching someone's father get floated really brought people closer.

The two girls stood like that for a while, when Raven squeezed her arm. ''Clarke, it's... it's, you know, it's...'' ''Time?'' Clarke asked. Raven nodded. ''Yes.'' Clarke took a deep breath and turned around. Her father was being led to the smaller room, the room that would lead him to his death by pushing one button. He looked over his shoulder to meet the eyes of his daughter, tears streaming down both of their faces. ''I love you, Clarke,'' he mouthed. ''I love you, too,'' she whispered.

Jake was ushered to stand in the middle of the little room and the two guards guiding him stepped out. The heavy doors shoot mechanically and Clarke would forever remember the sound of the two doors clicking shut. A guy Clarke did not know entered a code on a panel next to the heavy doors and looked around. His eyes met Clarke's and she could tell he didn't want to do this anymore than Clarke wanted him to do it.

But he did it. He pushed the final button and just like that the doors behind Jake opened and Jake was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke makes a promise to herself, a meeting takes place, and Wells is an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I just wanted to say that since the original chapters were both short f (bc ppl on wattpad seem to like short chapter, so I made them short), I decided to make chapter 5 and 6 into one chapter :) And please don't hesitate to tell me what you think, I like feedback :)  
> (Also, I made some changes in this chapter from the wattpad version bc there were certain things i did not like but don't worry, it still makes sense )

**Chapter 5/6**

The first two days were the hardest.

On the first day after Jake's death, Clarke did not say a word. She did not eat, either. She stayed in her bed the entire day, staring at the grey wall in front if her. She did not shed a tear that day. It was a day was of numb disbelief.

The second day, Clarke spent grieving. She cried until her body could shed no more tears, until her eyes were red and puffy, until even Raven did not know what to do anymore. Then Clarke got up, showered and ate with her friends. Still, the girl said nothing.

On the third day, Clarke awoke and got up. "Good morning," she had said, upon noticing Raven was awake. Raven was so shocked, she had said nothing in return. Today, Clarke said to herself, she would rise. She would stop crying and she would never shed a tear again. After all, it did no good to dwell on the unchangeable.

Clarke would rise like the first summer sun, strong and sure, and when night came, she, like the sun, would sleep, only to return even stronger the next day. Nothing would hurt her anymore, because, just like the sun, she was made of fire. A lion ablaze. Clarke Griffin was made of fire. Or so she told herself. 

On the fourth day after Jake's death, Clarke was awoken by Raven. "Wake up, Clarke! Wake up!"

"What is it?"

"Shh, listen," she said, holding out an earring to her. "They're having a meeting right now? They never have meetings on-" "Shut up and listen."

_"... must have everything ready. Is the spaceship ready to go?"_

_"Yes, Chancellor, sir. 'S all taken care o', sir."_

_"Very well. Alert the parents or family members of the prisoners, will you? Forbid all visits to the Sky Box, the children should not be warned by their family."_

_"Will do, Chancellor, sir. What do I tell 'em, sir?"_

_"Tell them that the delinquents will leave next Thursday. Tell them that they are sent as scouts, to see if the earth is inhabitable. Tell them that, afterward, they will be pardoned for their crimes. All of them."_

_"Okay, Chancellor, sir. I will personally make sure all of 'em are notified, sir."_

_"Thank you. You are dismissed."_

The two girls remained silent for a while, looking at each other. Clarke was the first to speak up. "Next Thursday. That is in five days."

"Holy fucking shit... Fucking fuck. Holy flying fucks. Fuck. Fuck a duck. Holy fuck. Fucking-" "Okay I get it, Rae, stop the fucking." "Never in my life will I stop the fucking," Raven laughed. "But anyway, back to business, we must tell the others."

"Okay, I'll tell Octavia and Miller, you tell Murphy and Finn, they'll tell five others, the way we did before," Clarke said. Raven nodded. The two showered and went to breakfast, were the telling began.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone was notified. When everyone had finished breakfast, Octavia, Murphy, Miller, Finn, Raven and Clarke retreated to Raven and Clarke's room.

"You know what I don't get?" Octavia asked. "Me in your bed," Murphy answered. "Shut up. What I don't get is how my brother and Wells get on the ship."

That silenced Murphy. None of them had thought about that yet, that much was obvious. Octavia continued.

"My brother hasn't committed a crime, and if he does, he'll get floated. And Wells, I mean, he's the Chancellor's son. Even if he commits a crime in the next four days, will Jaha really send him to the ground?"

"I think only time will tell," Finn answered, smiling.

Clarke rolled her eyes at him. He was completely right, and if anyone else would have said it, Clarke would have wholeheartedly agreed, but she really disliked Finn. She did not know why, and she felt kind of bad, since he is her friend's boyfriend, but she could not help it. The boy was just so full of himself.

Murphy noticed and had to stifle a laugh. "How will time tell anything if it can't talk?" he asked Finn, grinning at Clarke. Finn looked at Murphy. "It's an expression. It means that-" "Oh float yourself, I'm not stupid, I know damn well what it means," Murphy snapped.

"But you asked-" "I know what I asked. It was to test your stupidity. You have surprised me. I had guessed you were a little smarter than this," Murphy laughed. Finn frowned and looked at Raven for support. She quickly looked away and met Octavia's eyes instead, who winked at her. Raven laughed and Clarke noticed a slight blush creeping up on her cheeks.

 _What the fuck_ , Clarke thought. She would have to ask her friend the meaning behind that later. Just as she was about to speak, an alarm sounded and red light started flashing. "What the fuck?" Murphy muttered.

"All prisoners to the main hall. I repeat, all prisoners to the main hall."

"Well, to the main hall we go, I guess," Miller said as he stood up. "You think?" Murphy asked sarcastically. Miller rolled his eyes but grinned anyway.

As the group of friends (and Finn) walked out, they saw dozens of people making their way to the main hall. "What's going on?" Clarke asked. "It looks like new prisoners. The same thing happened when you two came," Octavia answered. "Perhaps your brother and Wells?" Clarke asked. "Could be."

Ten minutes later, Clarke's suspicions were confirmed. A handcuffed Wells walked in, head hanging low. "Wells, wells, wells, look who's there," Murphy drawled out, laughing. Wells looked up, and his frown left his face when he noticed Clarke.

"Clarke?" he asked. "No, this is her twin sister, Klork," Raven said before Clarke could even answer. Clarke had to laugh at that, and Wells grinned. "So I'm not alone, then," he said. "What did you do?" Clarke asked him. "I heard-" "Checks first, to that room," a guard interrupted Wells. "We're cell H21," Clarke called out after him. "Come visit when you're done!"

*

Two hours later, when Octavia, Raven, Clarke and Murphy were in the middle of playing truth or dare, Wells knocked on their door.

"Clarke?" he asked. "Hello to you, too, Wells," Raven said. Clarke ignored her friend and said, "Yes?"

"Do you think we can talk? In private?" Wells asked. "This is prison, man. There is no private. Murphy, you picked dare right? I dare you to kick out Wells," Octavia answered. "My pleasure," answered Murphy.

"What- no, I--" Wells' protests were futile, Murphy literally kicked him out. "Ouch!" Wells protested. "Ohh, does poor Wellsie have an ouchie?" Murphy mocked, kicking him again.

"What's your problem? Do you hate me or something?" Wells yelled.

"You're my problem! You got my mother floated, you son of a bitch! You saw her steal extra meds for me and went and told your precious daddy! I had an infected wound, I was dying, and my mom was trying to save my life, and now she's dead! You killed her! So yeah, I hate you!" Murphy yelled back.

"I was doing my job!" Wells defended. By now, a group of teens had gathered around their room, having heard the yelling. No guards were there yet, but Clarke feared they would come any minute. "Rae, we should-" "Shut up, I'm enjoying this. I never liked Wells."

"Your job? Your job?" Murphy yelled incredulously. "We were both twelve! You could have gone off to play with your crayons and fancy action figures in your big house instead, as the privileged boy you are! But no, you had to tell daddy! You had to get my mother killed!"

In a split second, Murphy was on top of Wells, punching him and kicking him. "Hit me, let's see if it makes you feel better!" Wells shouted. "Oh trust me, I'm feeling pure bliss right now," Murphy responded, throwing a punch so hard Clarke could hear the bones of Wells' nose crack.

"Murphy!" Clarke yelled, trying to pull the boy away. Wells saw the chance and got back up, blood coming out of his nose and mouth. Blinded by fury and a growing dizziness, he started throwing punches as well.

"Get the fuck off of her! Your fight is with me!" Murphy yelled, and it was then that Wells realized that the person he was hitting was not Murphy.

He looked at the floor and saw the bloody and beaten body of his best friend.

 *

Clarke was in the hospital wing for three days until she was released. Three antagonizing days. Her mother was the one attending her, and it was hell. Mothers had the tendency to act like nothing was wrong after pissing you off. Abby did the same, only she didn't just piss Clarke off, she, in her daughter's eyes, killed her father. 

''Hey sweetie, I'm here to change your bandage,'' Abby cooed the second morning Clarke woke up in a hospital bed. ''You speak another word to me and I swear to God, I will kill you,'' Clarke threatened in a dangerously low voice. Her ribs might be sprained, her nose might be broken, her arm might have deep cuts in them and she might have an internal bleeding or two, but she would _not_ let Abby talk to her like she did nothing wrong. 

''Clarke, honey,'' Abby sighed. ''Do not speak a word to me. Have you forgotten that you taught me everything there is to know about the human body? I know exactly where to stick a needle and paralyze you. So don't you _dare_  speak to me, Abby,'' Clarke spoke. Abby sighed, but for the remainder of Clarke's time in the hospital she didn't speak to her daughter again. In fact, she got Jackson to attend to most of Clarke's wounds. 

''Your mother is really trying, you know?'' he said as he cleaned the cut on Clarke's arm. ''Well, my father's still dead, so she can keep trying,'' Clarke grumbled. 

On the third day, two guards came to pick her up. They rolled her bed down to the Sky Box, Raven accompanying them. ''So now Murphy and Octavia are in solitary while Wells is still not back from the hospital wing,'' Raven concluded her story. ''They beat him up for me?'' Clarke asked. Raven nodded. ''Yeah, I wanted to join, but my asshat of a boyfriend held me back. 'No, Raven, no. I don't want you to get in trouble, Raven.' Idiot,'' Raven muttered angrily, mocking her boyfriend's voice. ''About Finn, something tells me you don't really like him.'' ''I don't. I think. I don't know,'' Raven sighs. 

''Why are you still with him?'' Clarke asked. Raven sighed again. ''He's the only person that has ever truly cared about me. The only person that has ever truly shown love for me. I don't know any better,'' Raven shrugged. ''Do you wish you did? Know any better, I mean,'' Clarke asked. ''I don't know. I think so, yeah. But it is what it is,'' Raven shrugged. 

*****

Clarke was in a restless sleep when the guards rudely woke her.

''Griffin, Reyes! Up, up, up! Get up!'' the guard barked. It was then that Clarke noticed the striking resemblance between the man and a dog she had once seen in a book. A bulldog, if she remembered correctly. She remembered what she had told the other prisoners last night, that they were to act confused, surprised, and maybe even scared, so they wouldn't draw suspicion, so Clarke did exactly that. 

''What? Why? What's happening?'' she asked, faking confusion while rubbing her eyes groggily. Raven nodded. ''Yeah, what's the matter?'' ''No questions. Here are your clothes, get dressed. I will be waiting outside. You have five minutes,'' the guard said.

As soon as the guard left, Clarke and Raven looked at each other. They could barely contain their excitement. ''This is really happening,'' Raven whispered anxiously. Clarke nodded. ''Oh, float me, I am so nervous,'' she admitted. ''Relax, nothing's gonna go wrong. Oh my god, okay, never mind, I'm freaking out, too. Do you realize that the next dinner we'll have will be on the ground? The next time I'll have sex it will be on the ground. Oh my god,'' Raven rambled.

''Do you ever think about anything else other than eating and sex?'' Clarke asked. ''Well, I often think about eating out during sex, if that counts. But that's kinda hard to do with Finn,'' Raven shrugged. ''You mean, you know, eating... well, you know...'' ''Pussy? Because yes Clarke, I do. I don't like to limit myself to genders. I read a book once and I found out that that's called being pansexual. But I don't care much for labels either, unless they're on Monty's Moonshine. Those are nice, I like the theme he has going on there,'' Raven said as she put on her shoes. 

''Ladies, hurry up. We don't have all year,'' the guard called out. '' _They_ sure don't. Three months, tops,'' Raven muttered. Clarke quickly put on the jacket she had been given and the two girls made their way outside. ''Handcuffs? Really?'' Raven groaned. ''Standard procedure. Wrists,'' the guard said in a monotone voice. ''Wrists, _please_. Did your mom never teach you to be polite?'' Raven scolded. The guard ignored her and handcuffed both girls. 

''Follow me.'' ''Oh damn, my hopes of going away of the _only_  guy that has the keys to my handcuffs, vanished into thin air,'' Raven said dramatically. ''Ever considered taking up acting?'' the guard asked, a faint smile playing to his lips. It seemed even the toughest guard couldn't keep a straight face when it came to Raven's sarcasm. 

''Oh yeah, totally, I was gonna star on 'The Wizard of Ark', but I lost the part, my magic card trick didn't wow the judges apparently. Fools,'' Raven replied sarcastically. Clarke laughed at that. Raven had the gift to lighten any situation with her sarcastic commentary. 

After walking another five minutes, the two girls found themselves in front of the gates of the Sky Box. Clarke was pleased to see everyone acting confused and scared. ''Head count!'' the head guard shouted and the guards started counting. ''All hundred present, sir,'' a young female guard said. ''Then let's get them moving.''

As the doors opened, a line of guards blocked the way. ''You will walk alongside your cell mate, no pushing, no pulling, no shouting. You are to follow the guards, there will be guards everywhere to make sure none of you get away, so don't even try. Let's go, go, go!'' 

And so it began. Slowly but surely, the hundred teenagers started following the guards. Past the gates. To the long and heavily guarded hallways. Past the hospital wing, where Clarke caught a glimpse of her mother. The two made eye contact, and Clarke saw tears streaming down Abby's face. _It's her fault_ , Clarke thought bitterly, looking away. ''Keep your head up, Griffin. Don't let her see that she's hurting you,'' Murphy said from behind her. ''She's not hurting me,'' Clarke snapped. ''Then act like it.'' 

They walked for about ten minutes when two of heavy glass doors became visible. Behind the doors, a spaceship was visible. ''You will all get a wristband, do not remove that under any circumstances or we will not know if you're alive. More will be explained later. Take a seat once you're inside, don't block the way and, most importantly, buckle up.'' 

The process of getting the wristband on was a slightly painful one. It clicked around your wrist and immediately sharp pins would shoot into your skin. Clarke flinched but other than that showed no emotion. She made her way through the doors and took a seat beside a fidgety Octavia. ''Is it weird that I am nervous? I mean, I know what's going to happen, I know we'll be okay, but still...'' Octavia trailed off. ''It's totally understandable, O. I am nervous, too. Hey, have you seen Bellamy yet?'' 

''No, I don't get it. He dreamed he was going to the ground as well,'' Octavia answered. ''Who are we talking about?'' Raven asked, taking a seat next to Clarke. ''Bellamy. He's not here.'' ''Maybe he's on another ship? One coming later?'' Murphy offered, having picked up on the conversation. Octavia shrugged. ''Maybe.'' 

Clarke was about to ask another question when the heavy doors slowly shut with a loud thud. Several screens went on around them and Clarke recognized Chancellor Jaha on the screen. 

_''Prisoners of the Ark. We are sending you to the ground. Yes, planet Earth. You've been given a second chance. And as your Chancellor, it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for you, but a chance for all of us. Indeed, for mankind itself._

_''We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If the odds of survival were better, we would have send others. Frankly, we're sending you, because your crimes have made you expendable...''_

Clarke zoned out after that, not giving a single fuck what the Chancellor might have to say. She had other concerns, such as her aching body. Her ribs were killing her, her nose was throbbing and she wasn't quite sure if it was actually advisable to send her through the atmosphere, but she didn't dare to complain. She was going to the ground with this ship and she knew she would be okay. At least okay enough to speak to the green eyed grounder girl. 

She still didn't know what name she liked better, earthlings or grounders, but she would decide what fit them best upon meeting the people there. Perhaps they could discuss things over dinner as well, trade survival techniques and such. Maybe they would be allowed to live in their villages and cities, and they could get proper jobs. Surely they would be nice to them. Perhaps they had dogs on earth. Or cats, or maybe horses. Perhaps she could ride a horse, like the people in those books did. Or maybe she could-

Clarke's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an alarm. Red lights flashed all around them. Men were shouting orders and the ship started shaking a little. ''This is it. This is the launching,'' Finn spoke up. ''No shit, Captain Obvious. Jesus, Reyes, I expected you would pick a smarter boyfriend, since you're so fucking smart,'' Murphy complained. ''Hey, I can be-'' ''Zip it. No one wants to listen to you talk,'' Octavia snapped. 

Then suddenly the spaceship made a sudden, violent movement and they all jerked forward. If Clarke thought the shaking was violent before, it was nothing compared to what she felt now.

''We're moving,'' Finn said. ''Finn, I swear to God, I'm trying to not lash out on you because I'm your girlfriend, but if you say something stupid one more time, I will unbuckle you and put you in your seat upside down after giving you a wedgie for the rest of this fucking flight.'' Raven threatened. 

Clarke made a mental note to thank Raven, because Finn shut his mouth after that. After a while the violent trembling stopped and they were comforted by the constant sound of the ship.

Until the ship made another violent movement that caused all of them to jerk forward again. ''What the hell was that?'' Clarke asked, rubbing her neck where the seat belt rubbed against her skin. ''The atmosphere, I think,'' Octavia answered. ''That means we're close, right?'' Finn asked. Raven rolled her eyes. ''Yes, Finn, that means we're close.'' 

And Raven was right. Not even a minute later the ship started shaking, again, but this time something felt off. ''Guys this doesn't seem right,'' Murphy said. People around them were getting worried as well.

''Aren't the parachutes supposed to come out by now?'' 

''Maybe they are and that's why we're shaking.'' 

''This ship is a hundred years old, something was bound to go wrong.''

''What if we die?'' 

''We don't, idiot, we all dreamed we would go to the ground.''

''I didn't. I'm sixteen!'' 

''Then maybe you will die.''

''Simon, shut up, don't be so negative.''

''My name is Jasper.'' 

''Guys why is there smoke coming out of that pipe?''

''Is that fire?'' 

Suddenly the ship seemed to crash into something and that's when Clarke's vision turned black, unconsciousness taking over her.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and the others go exploring, Inra, Nyko, Gustus and Anya make an appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, some changes in comparison w the wattpad version, nothing major, it still makes sense, I just didn't like the ending (still don't but it's better now)  
> Please tell me what you think :)

**Chapter 7**

''Do you think she's dead?'' ''She's breathing, idiot.'' ''Wait but can't you like, breathe but be dead at the same time?'' ''Finn you fucking idiot, how the fuck do you-'' ''Guys shut up, her eyes are moving.''

Clarke groaned but kept her eyes closed. Everything hurt. Her head, her ribs and her legs were aching and her lungs were burning. And then there was that annoying chirping sound. ''Whoever is making that fucking noise you better stop right now,'' she grumbled. ''Clarke, no one is making noise. That's probably the birds you're hearing,'' Raven said. Birds? That's when it hit Clarke. Birds. She was on Earth. She jumped up, rubbing her eyes and looking around her. A wave of dizziness hit her but she ignored it. Holy shit, she thought, looking around. It was breathtaking.

She was sitting on a blanket on grass - soft, green grass. Clarke ran her fingers through it. So that's what grass feels like. It's cold. They were on a clearing with trees surrounding them. High trees, small trees, big trees, thin trees, dark green and light green, brown and orange and yellow, it was beautiful. Clarke had never seen that many colors in her life. Behind her, the dropship was damaged but still perfectly usable as cover. People were carrying blankets out of it, others were carrying branches of all sizes out of the woods, tents were being built, someone had already managed to make a fire pit for later that night. Just like Clarke and Raven had told them to do during one of their meetings.

''Holy shit,'' she whispered. Octavia nodded. ''I know. It's amazing. We had some trouble opening the doors because the crash damaged one of them, but when we set foot on Earth, holy shit...'' ''About the crash, what happened?'' ''Well, the thing is a hundred years old. Something was bound to go wrong. And it did. One of the parachutes failed. We're all good though, everyone survived. They'll be glad to hear you're okay, they were worried. People look up to you, Clarke. They need you,'' Octavia answered. ''Help me up,'' Clarke said, holding her hand out. Murphy got up and helped his friend up. Clarke thanked him and looked around.

''I want to go exploring,'' she said.

*

Once everyone knew that Clarke was awake and that she wanted to go exploring, a few signed up for the mission as well. Those few being Octavia, Murphy, Jasper, and Raven. The others stayed back to help with building tents and dividing supplies. ''Princess, you might want to carry a weapon,'' Murphy said, ''We don't know what's out there. There could be wild animals, if they attack us, we should be able to fight back.'' Clarke nodded and looked at the weapons they had. Several guns and a lot of different sorts of knives. Clarke picked up a gun and a butterfly knife, just in case, and turned around. ''Let's go.''

They walked peacefully for about five minutes until they reached a river. ''Stop!'' Murphy shouted just as Clarke was about to take another step. He pulled her back and they fell on the ground together. ''What's wrong?'' Clarke asked. ''Look,'' he said, pointing at the ground. It took a second before Clarke noticed anything but then she saw a rope with a loop made in it. ''What's that for?'' Jasper asked. ''It looks like a trap,'' Octavia said, kneeling down to further examine it. She picked it up and tugged on it. It shot up and a rock fell down two feet in front of her, attached to the rope. ''Definitely a trap. Do you think your green eyed princess set this one up?'' Raven asked Clarke. ''Raven!'' ''What green eyed princess?'' Jasper asked. ''No-'' ''Clarke dreamed that she told a green eyed grounder girl about what happened to us and Dream-Clarke definitely had a crush on this girl. So Clarke's waiting for the love of her life to show up. Pretty sure that's why she wanted to go exploring,'' Raven explained despite Clarke's protests.

Clarke sighed. ''Oh, float you. She is not the reason I am exploring. Why am I friends with you?'' ''Because you can't go a day without this awesome ass,'' Raven replied, pointing at her butt. ''Keep telling yourself that. C'mon, let's continue exploring,'' Clarke grumbled. ''Mind yourself, there could be more traps. Careful,'' she then added. Murphy and Clarke went ahead, Clarke using a stick she found to poke at suspicious looking things. Maybe she was a bit paranoid, but she did not want to get stuck in a trap. ''Clarke, try that suspicious looking leaf over there, who knows, it might blow up in our faces,'' Raven said sarcastically. ''Raven, I am just-''

Before Clarke could speak another word, something shot past her, barely missing her ear, and buried itself in Octavia's leg. The girl yelled out a string of curse words, grabbing at the arrow that was buried in her leg. '' Octavia! Are you okay?'' Clarke asked, running over. ''Yeah, I'm fine, it's not that deep. Whoever shot this is either very bad or did not mean to cause that much harm. Fuck. It hurts like a bitch though. Can you try pulling it out? The point didn't go all the way in, so you don't have to push it through,'' the dark haired girl answered. Clarke nodded, grabbing the arrow carefully and pulling it out without warning. ''Fuck!'' Octavia hissed. Blood started flowing out of the wound. Murphy reached for his belt, unbuckling it.

''Murphy I do not want to see your dick, go pee somewhere else,'' Octavia groaned. ''Calm your tits, I'm stopping the blood,'' he muttered, tying the belt around Octavia's thigh. ''That should do it,'' he said. ''For now. We have to get back, make sure the wound doesn't get infected,'' Clarke said. ''Hold up, I want to see who the fuck shot me,'' Octavia protested. ''O, I don't think they'd want that. Maybe we have trespassed, who knows. Let's just go,'' Clarke tried to convince the girl, who ignored her and took a couple of hesitant steps forward, arms up in the air.

''I mean no harm! I just wanna know why you shot me,'' Octavia called out to the vastness of the trees before them. Bushes rustled and someone stepped forward. Their face remained hidden in the shadow, but the body was obviously feminine.

'' _Disha no laik yu graun! Gon we!_ '' a low voice called out. ''What'd she say?'' Raven whispered. ''I think she said 'bish I like your groin' or something,'' Murphy answered.

''I don't understand,'' Octavia said slowly. '' _Disha laik osir graun!_ '' the woman said. ''She would like to see my groin?'' Murphy asked. ''Maybe she wants to give you a blowie,'' Raven responded. ''I still don't understand,'' Octavia said, ignoring the two behind her.

''I am not supposed to speak _Gonasleng_ ,'' the woman spoke up. ''What's _gonasleng_?'' Octavia asked, taking another step forward. The woman raised her bow again. ''Your language. Stay back. This is our land,'' the woman said again. ''Talk about possesive,'' Murphy said, rolling his eyes. ''We mean no harm, we are sorry. We will go back to our camp. If we ever step on your land again, we do not mean to. We just moved into the neighbourhood, if you hadn't noticed,'' Raven called out to the woman. The woman remained silent. ''Geez, tough crowd,'' Raven muttered, taking a step back. ''Please don't shoot me! I like both my legs working,'' she then called out again.

''Raven, for your sake and for ours, I am asking you to shut the fuck up,'' Clarke told her friend. Then she turned to the woman clad in eccentric clothes. ''We're sorry, we'll leave now,'' she told the woman. ''You will. The girl I shot will not,'' the woman said again. ''What? We can't just-'' ''You can't just take her with you! I need her, she's my best friend!'' Raven interrupted. ''The arrow was dipped in poison. If you want your friend to live, she'll have to come with us,'' the woman said. Octavia blinked, looking down at her leg. ''Us?'' she asked doubtfully, trusting the woman less with every word she spoke. As if on cue, two large men moved to stand beside the woman. Unlike the woman, their faces were visible. Tattoos covered their faces and arms, they were wearing what seemed to be armor and daggers, knives and swords were strapped onto nearly every part of their armor.

''Okay, if you think we're letting her-'' ''I am Nyko. I am a healer. I am your friend's only chance at making it past the night. Soon, her wound will start to turn black. Her veins will become more noticeable. Blood will flow out of her nose. Let me carry her back to camp, I will _fis em op_ ,'' one of the men, Nyko, said. ''Fish them up?'' Jasper asked. '' _Fis em op_. I believe you would say 'heal her','' Nyko said. ''It's fine guys. I'd rather go with them than die,'' Octavia said. Clarke nodded. ''You will be fine. Your Dream ensures that, right? You will at least be okay until the moment you dreamed,'' Clarke said.

Octavia looked at the ground, avoiding Clarke's eyes. ''What? Octavia, what's wrong?'' ''Nothing is wrong, really. Not yet, at least. It's just that my safety is just no longer a certainty. My Dream showed me being here on the ground with you after the crash until you woke up and you waking up eventually,'' Octavia admitted. ''That already happened, right?'' Clarke asked. Octavia nodded. ''So that means that...'' ''It means that from this point on, I don't know if I will survive whatever happens to me. But it's fine, I know one thing for sure, and that is that if I don't go with them now, I will for sure die. I'll be fine, guys,'' Octavia said. Clarke released a shaky breath. She had never expected that Earth would come with this many problems, let alone that they had to deal with those problems this soon. She didn't want these worries. She wanted to be a careless teenager living on Earth. Still, she nodded. ''Okay,'' she said.

Octavia gave her a weak smile, before turning to the others and giving them all a hug. ''May we meet again,'' she said. ''We will,'' Raven said. Octavia turned to the three grounders and noticed that the woman had stepped forward. She had beautiful dark skin, and a tattoo near her right eye. ''My name is Indra. This is Nyko, as you know, and Gustus,'' she said, nodding to the men at her side. Gustus nodded curtly in acknowledgement

''Let's get this show on the road,'' Octavia muttered, stepping forward and trying to ignore the pain in her leg. ''There is no show. The entertainers are all in Polis,'' a confused Indra said. Octavia said nothing in return, something told her the woman did not like to be questioned, but she wondered what Polis was. ''It's an expression. It means 'let's go', so, let's go,'' Octavia explained. Indra nodded, and with one last look at her group of firends Octavia followed the three grounders in front of her.

They had walked for about five minutes when Octavia's leg gave away and she fell. She tried to get up, not wanting to show weakness, but she couldn't. ''It is the poison kicking in. Do not worry. I will carry you,'' Gustus whispered, easily picking up the girl. ''I can walk,'' Octavia protested. ''You can not. I will carry you. It is not a problem.''

Octavia sighed but gave in. It wasn't like she could fight the guy. She just hoped she would survive.

*

'' _Shof op, Anya. Sha, em no laik trikru, ba ai na fis em op._ (Shut up, Anya. Yes, she isn't trikru, but I will heal her).'' '' _Yu laik branwoda. Taim yu gaf in shil em op, taimm fis em op. Ba ai souda tel Heda op._ (You're foolish. If you want to fix her, then fix her. But I must tell the commander).''

Octavia did not recognize the people talking. Nor did she recognize the words. What she did recognize, was the headache their not-so-hushed voices were causing her. She groaned in protest and the two people stopped talking. ''Hello?'' a low male voice spoke up. ''Hi,'' Octavia said, still haven't opened her eyes yet. ''Can you hear me?'' ''No, that is why I replied,'' she grumbled, rubbing her eyes and finally opening them.

She seemed to be in some sort of tent. It was lit by candles and a fire pit in the middle of it. She was laying on a soft bed and there were about ten more beds in the tent. She sat up slowly and became aware of the ache in her leg. She looked at it to find it neatly bandaged. Her jeans were removed, however. As if reading her mind, the man next to her spoke up. ''I had to,'' he said. Octavia looked at him. ''Nyko,'' she said. Nyko nodded. ''Yes. And this is Anya,'' he said, referring to the gorgeous woman standing next to him. Octavia looked at her and her mind started racing.

What did Clarke say again? Brown hair. Green eyes. Full lips. Cute nose. Strange little pin on her forehead. No, Octavia concluded, this is not Clarke's girl.

''Hello. My name is Octavia,'' she told Anya. '' Anya. Anyway, I'll be going now. Gossip isn't going to spread itself,'' Anya said, and with a final pat on Nyko's shoulder, she left the tent.

Octavia remained silent for a while. Anya seemed of high importance, she had that air around her. She finally turned to Nyko. ''Now, when do I get to go back to camp?'' she asked.

Nyko sighed, shaking his head.

''I am sorry, but I can't let you go home. You are to stay here until we have figured how we deal with your people.''

''For how long?''

''Until your people are dealt with accordingly.''


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pt 1: The skaikru dislike their wristbands, two creeps hide in trees, Lexa takes a look.  
> Pt 2: Skaikru decide to look for Octavia, Finn is an idiot, Clarke and Lexa meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to combine two chapters again bc i realized it was short af, don't worry, it still makes sense :)  
> Also: I mention the bible in here, I do not mea to offend anyone's religion, I grew up Catholic myself, I just really love confused Lexa.

**Chapter 8**

When Clarke, Jasper, Raven and Murphy returned, and word of Octavia had gotten out, the camp became restless.

Some wanted to go after her, others said that wouldn't be wise, considering that apparently grounders shot those that stepped on their land. But then again, what was their land, and what wasn't?

Eventually, they made a compromise. If she wasn't back in thirty six hours, and Clarke was counting on her father's watch, they would send out a search party. So far, that party consisted of Clarke herself, Raven, Murphy, Finn and a girl named Harper. Clarke hated to admit it, but she knew they needed Finn. He was reckless, and sometimes reckless is exactly what you need. And he was also very good at tracking, something that became apparent when he came back to camp after leaving an hour before with a deer over his shoulders. He had found footprints and followed them until he came across the animal. It was the first time any of them had eaten real meat and it was spectacular.

Thirteen hours had passed. Thirteen long, but not entirely unproductive hours. They decided that a wall of some sorts around their camp would be necessary and people were carrying whatever was needed around, others were busy trying to find out the best technique, others tried to get the radio working again, everyone was doing something. Everyone except Clarke. She was sitting on a fallen tree, sunlight shining right in her face, when she felt someone sit down next to her.

''Hey,'' Wells said. Clarke looked up, frowning at him. ''I'm sorry,'' Wells said. ''For being an asshole and getting into a fight and then proceeding to fight you. I'm so sorry.''

Clarke shrugged. ''It's fine. I guess it's all behind us now, isn't it? We're starting fresh. We all are. I mean, that's the whole point of this. We check if the earth is inhabitable again, then the others will come down, and then we will be forgiven for our crimes,'' Clarke said. They sat in silence for a while until Clarke spoke up again. ''Is it selfish if I say I don't want them to come down?'' she asked.

''What do you mean?'' Wells asked. ''I just... My mom, she's the reason my dad died. Your father, he's he reason all of us are down here. And I don't mind being down here, but that is because it is away from them. Here, it is just us. We're all equals down here. No one is more privileged, we're all the same. If they come down here, they'll not only fuck that up, but they'll fuck us up again, they'll fuck the planet up. I don't want that. I don't want them here,'' Clarke explained. She hadn't noticed that a group had formed around them until she finished talking. Some where nodding in agreement.

''I get what you mean,'' the girl named Harper spoke up. ''They feel like they can take our rights away just because we're younger and did something stupid. They'll fuck the Earth up.''

More people nodded, some muttered agreements.

''We could- No, never mind,'' Murphy mumbled. ''No, say it,'' Clarke said. ''No, it's a stupid idea,'' Murphy shrugged. ''C'mon, Murphy, say it,'' Raven encouraged. Murphy sighed. ''I thought that, if we find a way to remove our wristbands... They'll think we're dead. They'll think the Earth is uninhabitable and then they won't come down here and fuck it all up,'' he said.

The crowd remained silent for a while, until Miller spoke up. ''Try it then, try it on me,'' he said, holding out his arm, the wristband shining brightly in the harsh sunlight. ''Are you sure? Your parents-'' ''Are dead. I don't care, do it,'' Miller said. Clarke pulled out a knife from her boots and got up. ''Alright, here goes nothing,'' she mumbled, gently grabbing Miller's arm and wriggling the knife in between the barely there place between his wristband and his flesh. ''Ready?'' she asked. Miller nodded in response and without warning, Clarke flicked off the wristband. Miller hissed when the pins stuck in his skin left his arm, but other than that he made no sound.

By now the entire camp had gathered around them to see what the commotion was all about. ''Do mine now!'' Harper yelled, holding out her arm. ''Mine too!'' ''Yeah, I'm next!'' ''Me too!''

Half an hour later nearly the entire camp was relieved of their wristband. Murphy had decided to help as well, speeding up the process. ''Murphy, you're up,'' Clarke said. Murphy put aside his own knife and held out his wrist for Clarke, who quickly removed his wristband. ''Alright, Clarke. Last but not least,'' Murphy then said, and after another minute Clarke, too, was relieved of her wristband. Inspecting her wrist, she saw five little red dots where the pins had been and she could already see a vague tan line from where the skin had been sheltered from sunlight, but other than that, it left no marks.

''Let's hope it works...'' Clarke muttered to herself.

*

Meanwhile, not far from the blonde girl, high in a tree, sat a man and a woman. Their faces where covered in white tattoos, intricate designs, thick fur coats covering them, even if it wasn't that cold out. In fact, it was very hot. Still, they wore the coats with the symbol of their clan. It was a hand with a spiral in the middle. The two said nothing, they merely watched what the new people were doing, how they behaved. There was a rustling of leaves below them. The woman looked at the man beside her, then carefully looked down. She covered her mouth with her hand in shock, looking back at her companion.

'' _Heda. Em laik Heda Leksa._ ''

*

The green eyed girl made no sound, but the same couldn't be said for the squirrel in the bush next to her. The leaves rustled and she worried she might attract attention, but when none of the Skaikru seemed to have noticed her, she kept moving. Her people had told them about the people that fell from the stars, but she needed to see for herself. She was curious like that. Her best warriors and guards had offered to come, but Lexa had shrugged them off. She was Heda. She could handle a couple of angels. That is what she believed they were. She had read books from before the explosion, where people descended from the sky. They were called 'angels'. Lexa wasn't sure if the book was a reliable source, since in the same book a woman named Mary, a virgin, became pregnant and a guy could walk on water and returned after death, but it would have to do for now. 

Sha cautiously took some more steps toward the camp. The Skaikru seemed busy looking at their wrists - perhaps it was some sort of ritual of theirs - so they hadn't noticed her yet. She could hear them now.

''Do you think O will be okay?'' a dark haired girl asked a boy with fairly long hair. ''I'm sure she will be fine. Unless she died, of course,'' the boy replied. ''Finn!'' ''Yes, Raven?'' ''You're so... so insensitive!'' she complained. ''Sorry to bother, but Rae, we need your skills. We found walkie talkies, but they're not working. Can you and Monty work together to try to get them to work?'' a blonde asked. Lexa couldn't see her very well, her back was turned toward her, but what she could see was great. She had a great butt. ''Of course,'' the girl named Raven replied. ''Great, follow me,'' the blonde said, turning around. Lexa gasped. The girl was beautiful. She had bright blue eyes and blonde hair, a cute nose and long dark lashes. She was beautiful. She fit the term angel perfectly, from what she had read.

''Did you just gasp?'' the girl asked Raven. ''Don't flatter yourself, your ass isn't that breathtaking,'' Raven said. The blonde girl laughed at that. It was a beautiful sound. ''Kidding, Clarke,'' Raven said. Clarke. So that was her name.

''Anyway, and be honest, I deserve honesty, how are things with your girl?'' Raven asked. ''She's not my girl. We haven't even met yet,'' Clarke groaned. Raven chuckled. ''Soon, Griffin. Soon.''

And boy, was Raven right.

*

The thirty six hours had passed. Raven, Murphy, Finn, Jasper, Harper and Clarke had picked some weapons, packed some food, and they were off.

''Okay, so you gotta be careful, the grounders set up traps. We found some last time,'' Clarke warned, carefully scanning the ground with every step she took. They walked in silence for about half an hour when Murphy spoke up. ''This is where we encountered the grounders,'' he said. Raven took a couple of steps forward, holding her hands up. ''Raven, why the hands?'' Jasper asked. ''So they know we mean no harm.'' ''But we do mean harm,'' Finn said. ''No, we don't. We just want Octavia back. If you came with us to fight then you should go back, 'cause that is not what we're here for,'' Clarke snapped. She followed Raven and soon they all reached the point the grounders appeared from. Finn took a careful step forward.

''We're lucky it didn't rain. Look, tracks,'' he said, pointing at the ground. ''Look, that's where Octavia walked. You can tell by how one footprint is deeper than the other. she was putting weight on that leg because the other one was hurt.'' They followed the footprints for about five minutes when Finn stopped walking. ''Okay, look. Octavia's footprints stop here. It looks like she fell, look, those could be her hands trying to break the fall. The other footprints continue, but those seem deeper than before, see? I think whoever this was picked up Octavia and continued to carry her to their destination,'' Finn explained. ''Would you look at that. You're not entirely useless,'' Murphy said. ''Let's just continue following the footprints,'' Harper said impatiently.

They continued walking until they reached a river. ''Did they cross the river?'' Raven asked. ''No, look. The footprints continue. They went around it. We'll do the same.''

They followed the footprints in silence - aside from Muprhy's sarcastic comments every now and then - until they reachedwhat seemed to be a road. Not a paved one, but at least it was better than walking through the bushes. After about twenty minutes of following the road, Clarke stopped them. ''Look at that statue,'' she said. It was a statue of an old man sitting. Bits and pieces were missing, but Raven still recognized it. ''That's the Lincoln Memorial. I read about it. This used to be Washington DC, the capital of the United States,'' she said. ''If they took Octavia back to where they live, we might be close. This would seem like a good place for living,'' Clarke reasoned. The walked around the statue and saw a path. ''The footprints are gone, but I think we should just follow that path,'' Finn said.

Following the path turned out to be the right choice. They soon reached a gate, guarded but two grounders. Just like the three grounders that took Octavia they wore armor, they had tattoos and they were heavily armed. ''Well, it appears we have a minor setback,'' Murphy whispered. ''It's alright, we've got guns,'' Finn said, and before anyone could stop him, he walked toward the gate. The two guard immediately raised their swords.

'' _Skaikru_!'' they both yelled, and before Finn could even grab a gun, he was tackled by two grounders jumping from the tree above him. '' _Jak emo op en tel Heda op! (Take them and tell the commander!)_ ''

''Finn, you idiot, what have you done,'' Raven groaned as two grounders dragged her to where her boyfriend was. ''I thought I could take them,'' Finn grumbled. ''You can't even take me properly, what makes you think you could take these guys,'' Raven argued. Despite the situation they were in, Clarke laughed. She really disliked Finn. ''As much as I like insulting Finn, we should probably try to get out of this,'' Murphy said.

''No getting out before you see _Heda_ ,'' a guard said. ''So you do speak English.'' '' _Shof op_.'' ''I don't speak grounder, sorry buddy,'' Murphy said. ''I said, shut up. _Heda_ is coming.'' ''Who the fuck names their child He-'' ''Murphy, for the love of God, shut up.''

Clarke paid no attention to the banter between Murphy and Raven. Nor did she care when a guard harshly pushed her on her knees. ''Kneel for _Heda_.'' Clarke didn't care when Raven looked at her with her eyebrows raised. She didn't care, because she didn't notice. All she noticed was how the gates opened and how a girl was surrounded by guards, and how that girl, who seemed to be her age, seemed like such a grown woman. She noticed the intricate braids in her hair, she noticed the dark paint around her green eyes, she noticed her beautiful lips and her perfect nose. she noticed her jawline - God, that jawline. It was so sharp, Clarke was sure it could cute the rope around her wrists. Clarke noticed the authoritative air around her, she noticed the grace with which she walked. _That's the girl, that's her,_ was all that Clarke could think.

The girl turned to look at them, and when her eyes met Clarke's, Clarke forgot how to breathe. '' _Skaikru_.'' Oh lord, even her voice was perfect. ''Hi, I'd like to file a complaint about how you guys handled this situation. Can I speak to your manager?'' Murphy said. ''Muprhy!'' Raven hissed. '' _Beda ai frag em op? (Should I kill him)_?'' one of the guards asked. ''No,'' the girl replied. Then she turned to Clarke. ''Are you the leader?'' she asked. Before Clarke could respond, Raven did. ''She is,'' she said. Clarke nodded, ''I guess.'' ''You guess? Do _Skaikru_ leaders become leaders by guessing?'' the girl asked mockingly. Clarke shook her head. ''No, I am the leader. Despite my will, isn't that right, Raven?'' she said, looking at her friend. Raven shrugged. ''I know how you feel,'' the girl said, but she spoke so soft, Clarke wasn't sure she was supposed to hear hear. Then she turned to her guards. '' _Breik emo au (free them)_ ,'' she said and a few seconds later all ropes were cut.

''Let us take this to my tent,'' she then said, and she gracefully turned around, walking away. ''Follow me.''

Raven and Clarke walked next to each other. ''Something tells me that's her right?'' Raven asked, grinning widely. ''Shut up. But yes.''


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Lexa talk, Lexa's angry and they go on an adventure.

**Chapter 9**

After Lexa had told the _skaikru_ to follow her to her tent, she had noticed the girl with the dark hair, Raven, telling inappropriate jokes to the leader, Clarke. She only knew their names from when she went to spy on the _skaikru_ , so she would have to pretend not to know their names.

She beckoned Tris, one of her guards, over. '' _Sha, Heda? (Yes, heda)_?'' she spoke. '' _Ai skaikru op. ai na shis emo heda op. (Watch the sky people. I will speak with their leader).'_ ' '' _Sha, heda._ ''

Lexa turned to the _skaikru_. ''If you could all wait outside. Do not try anything, my guards are watching you. I only need to speak to your leader,'' she spoke, voice loud and sure. Clarke stepped forward after sharing some looks with her people. She looked at Lexa and nodded. Lexa gave a curt nod. ''Follow me.''

Two guards stepped aside, allowing Lexa and Clarke to enter. Inside the tent was a large throne. It was made out of thick branches, knives strapped on it. There was a table on Clarke's right, maps and other things spread on it. The tent was lit by candles. Many of them. Lexa noticed Clarke look around in wonder. ''Is that your throne?'' she asked. Lexa nodded. ''Yes, I am the _heda_ ,'' she said. ''What is a _heda_?'' ''Their commander, their leader,'' Lexa answered. ''Your people call you _heda_ , but I assume you have a name.'' ''Lexa. I assume you, too, have a name?'' ''Clarke.'' ''Very well, Clarke _kom Skaikru_. My warriors are furious. My advisers are, too. You and your people have crashed into our land, have chased away all of the animals nearby, have even led the _Pauna_ to run into one of our villages, killing nearly half of my people there, and have damaged our Holy Forest upon your crash. The forest our first commander arrived in and died in in. And, your odd metal box nearly burned three children alive. If it were up to my people you would all have been killed already. It is my curiosity that's keeping you alive. So, Clarke of the sky people, do you have an explanation for me?''

Clarke looked at Lexa nervously. The girl in her Dream had seemed open, sensitive, willing to listen. This girl was hard, showed no emotions. ''I'm sorry. It was out of our control. We were sent to Earth by our people, our spaceship malfunctioned, causing the landing not to go as planned. I sincerely apologize for damaging your Holy Forest. And for chasing away the animals, too. But it is not my fault that _Pauna_ , whoever that might me, killed your people,'' Clarke said. '' _Pauna_ is not a person. It is an animal. One that has killed many of our people,'' Lexa said. ''Right. Why haven't your people killed it then?'' Clarke asked. Lexa shot Clarke a look.

''I am the commander of the twelve clans. I have thousands of warriors who have been trained since childhood. We have fought many wars, killed many people and animals. Do not ask why we haven't killed her yet when you could not even fight my warriors when they captured your people,'' she said, voice low and threatening. Clarke gulped. ''I'm sorry.''

''An apology won't do, I'm afraid. If it were up to me, maybe. But like I said, my people are furious. They will be even more furious if they see I kept you alive for no reason. So, Clarke of the sky people, give me a reason.''

''I- We, maybe... What if I can kill the _pauna_ for you?'' Clarke offered nervously. Lexa cocked an eyebrow, a mocking smirk playing on her lips. ''Kill the _pauna_? Very well. If you can kill the _pauna_ , I will let you live. For now,'' she said. Clarke nodded, relieved. Surely he could kill an animal. How hard could it be?

''Let us go, then.'' ''What? Now? And you're coming with us?'' ''Yes, now. And yes, I'm coming with you, only you, not your people. You may bring weapons with you, of course. I'm going with you to see to it you actually kill the _pauna_ ,'' Lexa answered. Clarke nodded, ''Of course,'' because what else could she say?

Lexa led the way outside, meeting the curious and slightly apprehensive faces of the _skaikru_. '' _Clarke kom Skaikru_ and I will hunt the _pauna_ ,'' she called out, voice loud. Several cheers of her own people were heard. ''If we manage to kill it, we will forgive the _Skaikru_ for what they have done,'' she continued. By their facial expressions it was clear not everyone agreed, but they said nothing. ''We will leave right now.''

*

After Clarke had quickly told her friends of the plan, she met with Lexa and nodded. ''Ready whenever you are,'' she told the young leader. ''I have been ready since I said 'we will leave right now'. Back when it was still light. It is dark now,'' Lexa responded, sounding quite annoyed. ''Right. Sorry,'' Clarke muttered. _Maybe this isn't the girl of my Dream_ , she thought, _maybe this girl has a twin_. ''Do you have a sister?'' she asked Lexa, who had already started walking to the gate. ''Yes.''

 _Bingo, that must be her,_ Clarke thought. ''Does she look like you?'' Clarke asked, just to be sure. ''No. We are nothing alike,'' Lexa answered curtly. _Fuck_ , Clarke thought, _then this really must be her_. ''Where is she now? Your sister? Are you close?'' ''Enough, Clarke.'' Clarke couldn't help but like the way Lexa said her name.

''How far exactly is the _pauna_?'' Clarke decided to ask. She was getting hungry. ''Patience is a virtue, Clark of the sky people. It is also something you lack,'' was Lexa's only answer. ''You're not one for small talk, are you?'' ''How can talk be small? Words are not measurable,'' Lexa asked. Clarke tried to hide a smile. ''It's just an expression,'' she said. ''Your people seem to have a lot of expressions. Indra, my best warrior, told me of an expression the girl we took said. Something about a show, and a road. It was odd, since the entertainers are in Polis and there wasn't a road near them at the time,'' Lexa said. ''Let's get this show on the road. It means 'let's go'. About that, that was actually the reason we came to you. We want Octavia back,'' Clarke said, suddenly reminded of the actual reason she went to find the grounders.

''We will discuss that when we are back,'' Lexa said. ''But-'' ''Quiet.'' ''No, I-'' Clarke couldn't finish her sentence, Lexa covered her mouth with her hand. _Damn, she's got long fingers,_ Clarke thought. Lexa lowered her hand and looked around. She unseathed her two swords from her back, ready to fight. Clarke decided to grab her gun, Lexa had obviously heard something. ''Is it the _pauna_?'' she asked as quietly as possible. ''No.'' ''Then-'' ''Quiet,'' Lexa hissed.

Then Clarke heard it, too. the rustling of leaves. She turned toward the sound, gun ready to fire. A figure stepped outside of the leaves and before Clarke even had time to react, a knife flew past her ears and landed into the person's chest. The man fell to the ground and Clarke gasped. ''Lexa! Why did you kill him? He is one of your own people!'' Clarke said, kneeling down next to the man. ''He is not one of my people. Not anymore. The maunon made him into a _ripa_ ,'' Lexa hissed angrily, bending down to pull her knife out of the man's chest. ' _'Yu gonplei ste odon_ ,'' she muttered. ''What does that mean?'' ''Your fight is over. We say it when someone dies,'' Lexa answered curtly. ''What is a _maunon_? And what is a _ripa_?'' '' _Maunon_ , the mountain men, are our biggest enemy. They live in the mountain. They take our people and turn them into reapers, made to take more of us. They cannot be brought back. We have tried and they die. Death is the only way to save them,'' Lexa explained. She looked around, to remember the spot she killed him, so she could bring him back later and burn his body.

''Let's go,'' Lexa said, standing back up. Clarke stood up as well, still taken aback from just watching a man die. Lexa noticed, and said, ''There was nothing you could have done, Clarke. He probably would have killed you.'' Clarke nodded, trying to believe Lexa's words. ''Let's go,'' she repeated.

They continued walking for about an hour and Clarke was growing hungrier by the second. As if reading her mind, Lexa said, ''We will set up camp here. There are edible berries and nuts here. It is growing too dark and we do not have a light to guide us.'' Clarke nodded gratefully.

Setting up camp really just meant making a fire and a makeshift bed from large leaves and a jacket for Clarke. ''You will grow cold,'' Lexa told her. ''The fire will keep me warm. I need a pillow.'' ''You sky people are weak,'' Lexa said. ''Not weak. Just really attached to comfort,'' Clarke protested. ''How can living in the sky possibly be comfortable? You do not have the feeling of the Earth beneath your feet,'' Lexa wondered. ''It's not really comfortable. I mean, it was fine for me, we were a privileged family. But most people had to live in a small room,'' Clarke said. ''Earlier you asked me about my sister. Do you have a sister? Or a brother?'' Lexa asked. Clarke shook her head. ''No. On the Ark, you weren't allowed to have more than one child. Whoever did have more than one child was floated, the second child imprisoned,''Clarke explained. ''What is floated? I thought you were in the sky, not in the water?'' Lexa asked. ''Being floated was our way of executing someone. We shot people into space, where they couldn't breathe and the air pressure was too low. Octavia was a second child,'' Clarke told Lexa. ''So she was a prisoner?'' Lexa asked incredulously. Clarke nodded. ''All of us were prisoners,'' she said. ''You're a criminal?'' Lexa asked, hand on the hilt of her dagger. ''Relax. I told the truth and was imprisoned for it,'' Clarke said, the finality in her tone telling Lexa not to ask any more questions, even though she was dying to ask questions. She wanted to ask this blue eyed girl so many questions. She decided to just ask one for now.

''Why did I dream about you?''

Clarke looked at Lexa dumbfounded. ''What?'' ''In my dream. I saw you in a dream of mine a little over a year ago. You told me you fell from the sky in the Dream. I thought it was the previous commanders talking to me in my sleep, but then you all fell from the sky. Are you the daughter of the _Pramheda_?'' Lexa continued.

''What? How old are you?'' Clarke asked. ''I am eighteen years old.'' ''So you were seventeen when you dreamed this?'' ''Yes. In fact, it was on my seventeenth birthday,'' Lexa confirmed. ''So you have them, too,'' Clarke whispered. ''Have what? Dreams? I believe everyone has dreams, Clarke of the Sky people,'' Lexa said, brows furrowed. ''No, no, no, I mean _the_ Dream. Have you ever heard the Story of Dreams, Lexa?'' ''Story telling was not part of my youth. I was trained to be _heda_ ,'' Lexa said. Clarke frowned. ''So you do not know the story of Dreams?'' she asked. Lexa shook her head.

So Clarke told her the story of dreams.

''Is it a true story?'' Lexa asked once Clarke finished telling the story, the same way her father used to tell her. Clarke nodded, ''Everyone on the Ark has it. They say it started with the first generation born on the Ark.'' ''Everyone?'' Lexa asked in wonder. Clarke nodded. ''Here only the _natblidas_ have those dreams you just described, I think,'' Lexa said. ''Narwhals?'' ''What? I do not know what that is, but I said _natblidas_. Nightbloods,'' Lexa explained, and she picked up her blade. She cut a clean cut in her hand, and if it hurt, she showed no sign of it. ''Lexa, wha- Oh my God, are you sick? Your blood, it's...'' ''Black? I know,'' Lexa finished for her. ''Wha- How? Why?'' Clarke asked in wonder. ''It goes back to the first commander,'' Lexa said. ''The children born with black blood are called _natblidas_ , they are trained to be commander. Then, on the ascension day, we fight until there is one survivor. That person becomes commander,'' she continued. ''Wait, so you killed other people? Just because you wanted to be commander?'' Clarke asked.

Lexa shot her a glare. ''I never wanted to be commander,'' she hissed. ''Now sleep. We have a long day ahead of us.''

Clarke sensed there was no room for discussion, so she sighed, nodded and got comfortable. As far as one could be comfortable on the cold, hard ground.

*****

The next morning, Lexa awoke before Clarke. Back before she was commander, Lexa was never a light sleeper. But then she became commander and she had thousands of people counting on her and Costia died and she simply couldn't sleep soundly anymore. The slightest rustle of leaves awoke her. And this morning she was glad for it. The roar was far away, but Lexa knew that it wouldn't take long for the wild beast to find them. ''Clarke. Clarke, wake up,'' she urged.

Lexa watched as the blonde furrowed her eyebrows and groaned. ''Five more minutes,'' the blonde groaned. ''No, Clarke, now.'' Sensing the urgency in the brunette's voice, Clarke shot up.

''The _pauna_ is close,'' Lexa explained, standing up and gathering her weapons. Clarke got up, shrugged on her jacket and grabbed her gun. ''Okay let's go, then,'' Clarke said. Lexa raised an eyebrow. She wouldn't say it out loud, but she admired Clarke's courage. She had just landed on Earth and was ready to hunt an animal that Lexa's people had feared for so long. Then again, maybe it was just pure stupidity, Clarke had no idea what kind of animal the _pauna_ was.

The _pauna_ roared again and it sounded closer this time. Clarke looked left from her, where the noise came from. She followed the sound, gun loaded and ready, pointing ahead of her. Lexa quickly moved so she was walking next to the blonde, sword ready. ''So, how large exactly is this _pauna_?'' Clarke asked. ''Whatever you're imagining, it's bigger,'' was Lexa's response.

She did not lie. Clarke had imagined a large, lion like creature, about the height of her waist. Not a giant gorilla, about three to four times her size. It hadn't seen them yet, which was good. They were standing in what seemed to be an old zoo. There was blood everywhere, bones and skulls littered the grounds. The _pauna_ was bent over a body. A human body. Lexa's stomach dropped when she saw it was the reaper they had encountered earlier. The man she had killed. Clarke sighed, aiming her gun at the _pauna_. She pulled the trigger and the bullet flew, burying itself in the flesh of the _pauna_. It roared in anger and turned around. The bullet didn't do much except for anger it. She fired again, hitting the _pauna_ in the chest. It was bleeding now, but the _pauna_ didn't seem to be severely hurt. It only got angrier.

The _pauna_ ran toward them. ''Run!'' Lexa shouted, turning around and grabbing Clarke's arm. She pulled her along and they ran up some stairs. ''Careful,'' Lexa warned, pointing at a broken step. Clarke was too busy thinking of the mutated animal behind them to thank her, but she did appreciate the warning. They ran through a narrow doorway, Clarke guessed this would have been were the visitors would look at the animals, and the _pauna_ roared in anger. ''She'll find another way to enter, we're still not safe here,'' Lexa said, facing Clarke. She looked around her and saw many doors. She walked to the nearest one and gasped. There were skeletons. They still had their clothes on. They were covered in dust. ''No one's opened this door since the nuclear war,'' Clarke told Lexa, who had moved to stand behind her, looking over her shoulder. ''Clarke, we have to go,'' she urged, slightly pushing Clarke away from the door and closing it.

Clarke nodded. ''Right. We could go back the same way we came from, follow the pauna. It'll think we're still in here and then we attack from behind,'' she proposed. Lexa nodded, ''Okay.''

They silently walked back to the doorway, looking for signs of the pauna. Lexa pointed at the giant footprints on their right and the followed them until they reached another set of broken stairs. They carefully climbed them, all the while checking for any signs of the pauna. Clarke saw her first, she was standing on top of a roof of what was once the zoo. Lexa nodded and pointed at a ladder not too far away from them. They climbed it in silence. Once they reavhed the roof, Clarke readied her gun. She put her finger over her lips, telling Lexa not to make a sound. Lexa rolled her eyes. As if she'd be stupid enough to make sound with the pauna standing thirty feet away from them. They were lucky it hadn't seen them yet. It seemed to be on the lookout for them, on the other side of where they entered. Clarke silently made her way toward the pauna until she was about seven feet away from it. She aimed at the pauna's head, took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew into the pauna's neck.

It fell to the ground, but not before swinging its arms wildly at Clarke, causing the girl to get knocked against a wall and fall limply to the ground. ''Clarke!'' Lexa yelled, running over.

She quickly checked the pauna, and when she had made sure it was definitely dead by piercing her sword through the head of the animal, she turned to the blonde laying a few feet away from her. ''Clarke,'' she said, turning the blonde's body to face her. Blood was trickling down the side of her face and her shoulder seemed to be dislocated. Lexa knew how to fix Clarke's shoulder. She had been in the girl's situation many times, a dislocated shoulder was nothing new to her. She needed to wake Clarke first, though. ''Clarke, wake up,'' Lexa urged, shaking the blonde girl slightly. She ripped off a piece of her own shirt and used it to dry Clarke's wound. It wasn't too deep, and she wasn't bleeding heavily, but Lexa still worried. She had dreamed about this girl, she felt like she had a special connection to her. She wanted to find out what that connection was, so she really needed Clarke to live. Lexa looked around. The bones and skulls and dead animals did nothing to calm her down. ''We need to get out of here as soon as possible,'' she muttered to herself. And with that, she picked Clarke up and carried her back to the ladder. She swung the blonde over her shoulders and made her way down, careful not to hurt Clarke.

Reaching the bottom the ladder, she put Clarke down to pick her up bridal style. It was easier and she was pretty sure Lexa's shoulder protection would bruise Clarke if she stayed like that any longer. She ran back the way they came from and soon found herself back in the forest. Lexa gently put Clarke down again and sighed. She wanted to get Clarke to a healer as soon as possible. The cut didn't seem too bad, but it could get infected, and maybe she had a concussion. She knew a bit of healing, her mother had been a healer, but that didn't go much further than bandaging a wound or knowing which plants helped against certain things. The problem was, they had no horses and it was a long walk. Still, walking seemed to be her only option. Lexa took a moment to rest, before picking Clarke up again, careful not to touch her arm nor shoulder. She started walking back to TonDC.

*****

After about three hours of walking, Clarke started to stir. Lexa kept going, her main goal was to reach TonDC as soon as possible. Clarke started groaning, and Lexa felt bad for the girl. She gently put her down. Clarke winced and looked at her shoulder. ''Can you help me with my shoulder?'' she asked Lexa. Lexa nodded. ''I wanted you to be awake before I did anything,'' she said. ''I'll need you to lay down.'' Clarke nodded and did as she was told. Lexa held Clarke's arm, elbow bent at a 90 degree angle. She looked at Clarke, who nodded, and Lexa tightened her grip on her arm, before pulling carefully. Clarke yelled out in pain, and Lexa didn't blame her, she knew how much it hurt. ''Done,'' Lexa said, helping Clarke to sit. Next step was a sling. Lexa took of her shoulder protection and took off the red sash attached to it. It was big, so she folded it two times and then gently placed Clarkes arm in it, proceeding to tie it around her neck.

''Thanks,'' Clarke mumbled. _This side of Lexa I can see myself liking,_ she thought to herself. ''You're welcome. How is your head?'' Lexa asked. ''Hurts. What exactly happened? Did I kill the pauna?'' ''Yes, you shot the pauna in the neck. It wasn't dead immediately, is hit you first and knocked you against the wall. I carried you from there,'' Lexa replies. ''How long have you been carrying me for?'' Clarke asked, blushing. _Why am I blushing?_ ''About three hours.'' ''Three hours? Shit, I'm sorry. God, I'm so heavy, how did you-'' ''You are not heavy,'' Lexa said because she really wasn't. ''And it was no trouble at all. Now let's go. We're nearing the river, we can drink there. There are berries there, as well.''

Clarke nodded, and got up. She swayed and everything around her blurred. Lexa steadied her. ''Are you okay?'' she asked. ''Yeah, it's just my head,'' Clarke said. ''Do you think you can walk?'' Lexa asked. Clarke nodded, ''If I just take it slow.'' Lexa wanted to say that they should try to hurry, because she wanted Clarke to see a healer as soon as possible, but then she realized that she shouldn't care. So she just nodded. ''Slow,'' she repeated.

And slow they went. They walked slowly for about an hour, until Clarke's vision started to blur. She swayed a little but kept going. ''Clarke?'' Lexa asked. Clarke didn't respond, she was too dizzy. Before Lexa could say anything, Clarke collapsed to the ground. She groaned, clutching her side. ''Clarke, lift your shirt up,'' Lexa instructed. Clarke wanted to make a snarky remark, but her throat felt dry. Lexa lifted Clarke's shirt and grimaced. She had a dark red wound across her ribcage. ''Must've been the pauna,'' Lexa mumbled, more to herself than to Clarke. ''Clarke, why didn't you tell me about this wound?'' Lexa asked. ''Didn't think it was bad,'' Clarke groaned. ''It is infected,'' Lexa stated. She knew what an infected wound looked like. Red, swollen wound. Fever. Dizziness. ''It's not a long run,'' Lexa said, pulling Clarke's shirt down again. ''I am not running,'' Clarke muttered. ''You're right, I am,'' Lexa said and she picked Clarke up for what felt like the tenth time.

''You're strong,'' Clarke muttered, poking Lexa's arm, ''and fast. Yes, strong and fast,'' she added, agreeing with herself. Lexa ran with Clarke muttering gibberish for about an hour when the gates of Ton DC came into view. By then Clarke had fallen asleep. Or so Lexa hoped. Because if she wasn't asleep... no, Lexa wouldn't think like that. The guards noticed their Heda and opened the gates. Lexa didn't stop to greet and address her people, she just ran straight to the healer's tent.

''Nyko!'' Lexa called out. The healer stood up and, when noticing Clarke in his Heda's arms, quickly took her from her and put her down on a bed. ''What happened?'' he asked, and Lexa told him everything. ''You defeated the pauna?'' Nyko asked. ''Clarke did, yes,'' Lexa said. _''Yujon (Strong one),''_ Nyko muttered in awe as he treated the blonde's wounds. Lexa could only nod in agreement.

Just as she was about to ask Nyko something, someone ran into the tent. ''Clarke! Clarke, oh my God,'' Raven said, running to her friend's side. One of Lexa's guards came running in after her. _''Wigod ai op, Heda, (forgive me heda),''_ he said, a little out of breath. ''We tried stopping her but we couldn't.'' ''It is alright, leave us,'' Lexa spoke. The guard nodded and left.

Lexa turned and faced Raven, who was holding her friend's hand. ''What happened? You came running in and you were carrying her, is she okay?'' Raven asked. Lexa cocked an eyebrow at all the questions coming her way. ''Clarke defeated the pauna, but not before the pauna hit her. She fell against a wall, dislocated her shoulder, hit her head and, apparently, has an infected wound,'' Lexa answered. ''Oh my god,'' Raven whispered, squeezing Clarke's hand. ''Why do your people call upon your God so often?'' Lexa asked. Raven tried to hide a laugh. ''It's just an expression,'' she says. ''Another expression,'' Lexa mumbled.

Everyong remained silent as Nyko put some ointment on Clarke's wounds. Then Raven spoke up again. ''Commander? Are we forgiven for whatever it is we did? And do we get Octavia back?'' she asked. Lexa nodded. ''Kyaro!'' she called out. The same guard as earlier ran into the tent. '' _Breik Octavia kom Skaikru au (Free Octavia of the sky people),''_ Lexa ordered. The guard nodded, _''Sha, heda (Yes, commander).''_

Lexa shot Clarke one last look, before walking out of the tent and addressing her people.

 

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's feast, there's Octavia/Raven/Clarke friendship time, there's a tiny bit of Anya (more Anya will follow as the story progresses), and Clarke has a bad feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be some characters mentioned here that I made up myself. The same goes for bits of the grounder history and certain other things, as types of plants or names of certain things that did not exist in the 100 universe.

**Chapter 10**

Three days had passed since Clarke and Lexa had come back from their trip to kill the pauna. Lexa had ordered some of her strongest guards to go fetch the pauna, they were to have a large feast when Clarke was back on her feet. That feast was today. Clarke had declared herself better as soon as she woke up, which was a few hours after they had returned, but Nyko had disagreed and had only declared her fit to walk yesterday.

Lexa had come in to visit her everyday. The first time was with Octavia by her side. They had embraced each other and Octavia cried. Clarke didn't cry, because she had made a promise to herself to never cry again, but she wanted to cry. ''I was so worried about you,'' Clarke said as she held her friend close. Lexa watched and promised herself to never take another Skaikru unless it was absolutely necessary because she hated seeing Clarke like that. Not that she would ever admit it. She still didn't understand her connection to the blonde. But she had dreamed about her, and, according to Clarke, that dream was very important.

Right now, Clarke was trying to squeeze into a dress Octavia had somehow found for her. It was a skintight black dress with a low cut, reaching until about halfway her thighs. ''O, I won't be able to pull this off,'' Clarke said. ''Bullshit, you'll look great,'' Octavia said. ''No, I mean literally. I won't be able to pull this dress off. I won't be able to get out of it,'' Clarke said. ''Surely the commander won't mind helping you,'' Octavia said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. ''Shut up,''Clarke said, blushing. She had thought about the other girl quite a lot these past three days.

Lexa had dreamed about her, too. She had yet to tell her friends, she wanted to to keep this piece of information to herself until she knew what to do with it. Unfortunately for her, Octavia knew her so well, she was able to tell something was troubling Clarke. ''Clarke? What's on your mind? Tell me,'' Octavia asked. Raven, who was sitting on the bed, looked at Clarke curiously. ''Did you fuck?'' she asked. ''I- Raven, no. We did not. Lexa, she... People here have the Dream as well,'' Clarke started, ''But it's different. Only, and I don't fully understand this, but only the nightbloods. They are the people with black blood. Lexa showed me, her blood is black. Like, not very dark red, but actually black. Lexa said it goes back to the first commander, the nightbloods are all trained to fight and become commander from a very young age and then, when the commander dies, I think, they all fight until there is only one survivor left and that person becomes commander. Anyway, Lexa had her Dream, she's eighteen now, and she dreamed about me, too.''

Octavia started jumping up and down and squealed. ''Oh my god, you two will so end up together, I can feel it. Rae we have to come up with a name for them, oh my god,'' she started rambling. ''Already did that. Clexa,'' Raven said, grinning at her friend. ''Brilliant. I can't believe it. From what Lincoln's told me, the commander is a cold leader, some call her heartless, she doesn't let anyone in. Well, he mentioned this girl, Costia, but he said she died. Anyway, I can't believe Clarke will make the stoic commander feel shit again. Rae, can you believe it?'' Clarke blushed. ''Okay, okay, Octavia. Calm down. First of all, Lexa is not heartless. Second of all, who the fuck is Lincoln?'' Clarke asked.

Now it was Octavia's turn to blush. ''Just a guy. A very hot guy. But let's not talk about that,'' she said, changing the subject, ''let's see what they have for makeup down here. Surely they have makeup, I mean, the commander has dramatic tear streaks around her eyes. Kinda extra, if you ask me.'' Just as Octavia was about search the entire tent for makeup, someone walked in. Octavia looked up and when she saw who it was, she said, ''Anya, just the person I need, we-'' ''I have been sent to tell you that the feast will commence in an hour. The commander would like to personally fetch Clarke of the Sky people, so make sure you are ready by then,'' Anya responded. ''Who is she,'' Raven said, looking Anya up and down. When she realized she said it out loud, she covered her mouth with her hand. Octavia laughed. ''This is Anya _kom Trikru_ , that means she is a nymph,'' she said. ''Octavia, for the last time, Trikru are not nymphs. We are the tree people, the tree clan. You're sky people, the Skaikru. We're not calling you aliens, are we?'' Anya said, sounding very irritated, but the spark in her eyes showed her amusement.

''Actually, Lexa thinks we are angels,'' Clarke said. ''Of course she would say you're an angel, she's trying to get you in her bed,'' Raven said. Octavia took in a breath of air. She knew what consequences it could have to disrespect the commander. Luckily, Anya did not behead Raven. In fact, she chuckled. ''So I'm not the only one that noticed the heda's infatuation with the sky princess,'' she said, smirking at Raven. ''Stop, please,'' Clarke groaned. Octavia laughed. ''Okay. Anya, do you have any makeup? We wanna make Clarke look even hotter than she already does,'' she said. ''Makeup is the stuff you put on your face to look pretty, right?'' Anya asked. Octavia nodded. ''I'll be right back,'' Anya said.

Five minutes later, Anya returned with a little bag. She emptied its contents on the bed. ''Anya, everything is black. We're not gonna give her black lips and cheeks and eyebrows,'' Octavia said. ''This is Lexa's, what did you expect. It's her kohl,'' Anya said, looking through the contents of the bag. ''Her what?'' ''Warpaint.'' ''Oh, the tear streaks? She kinda looks like a raccoon,'' Raven said, laughing. ''Don't tell her that or she'll kick you off a balcony,'' Anya said, smirking at Raven. ''Okay, we've got this, we can use this for the eyes,'' Octavia said, holding up a small piece of kohl. Raven nodded and Octavia started working on Clarke's eyes. ''Okay we need something to blend it with,'' Octavia said, looking around. ''Just use your finger, there's nothing else,'' Raven said. Octavia smirked and Raven rolled her eyes. ''Just do it.''

When Clarke's eyes were done, wonderfully so, Octavia looked around. ''What do you need?'' Anya asked. She had never seen this type of ritual. Sure, she knew warpaint, but this was not for war. This was to look pretty. This was a ritual Anya was not familiar with, but it was a Skaikru ritual, so she would respect it. Rituals were something that had to be respected. ''Lipstick. Do you have any?'' ''What is lipstick? Is it a stick made of lips?'' Anya asked. Octavia looked appalled. ''Lord, no! It's makeup!'' she said. ''Do you have something that gives off a pretty color? Like red or pink?'' Raven decided to ask. ''Like blood?'' Anya asked. Raven laughed. ''Nevermind. Clarke, you look beautiful without lipstick,'' she said. Clarke smiled. ''Thanks Rae. Now, Anya, you said Lexa wanted to come pick me up herself?'' she asked. Anya nodded. ''We will be leaving now, Lexa should be here shortly,'' Anya said, gesturing at Raven and Octavia to stand up. ''See ya later, alligator,'' Octavia said, hugging her friend. Raven gave her a high five and told her not to do anything she wouldn't do. ''So that means I can do anything,'' Clarke said, smirking as Raven threw her a death glare. ''Just go, I'll meet you at the feast,'' Clarke said.

About half an hour after Raven, Anya an Octavia had left, taking Lexa's kohl with them, Clarke heard footsteps. They stopped just outside of her tent. ''At the lack of a door to knock on, I am here, pretending to knock, hoping you will let me in,'' Lexa said. Then, as an afterthought, she added, ''Knock knock.''

Clarke held back a laugh. ''Who's there?'' she asked. ''Lexa.'' ''Lexa who?'' ''Lexa kom Trikru,'' Lexa said, sounding quite confused. Did Clarke know multiple Lexa's? Clarke laughed and held open the tent, meeting Lexa's eyes. ''Do you know knock knock jokes?'' Clarke asked, trying not to ogle too obviously. Lexa looked gorgeous. She was wearing armor, as per usual, but it was so much more regal. She looked stunning, dark black clothes with bright golden and silver accessories and her red sash. She had no warpaint on, and it made her look younger and kinder, but still as authoritative as ever.

''I'm afraid I don't. You look beautiful, Clarke of the Sky People,'' Lexa said, looking Clarke up and down. ''Thank you, Commander. So do you,'' Clarke said, blushing. ''As for the knock knock jokes, ask Raven, she knows a lot,'' she added. ''I will,'' Lexa said, holding out her right arm for Clarke to take. ''Are you ready?'' Lexa asked. Clarke nodded and she couldn't help but smile at Lexa. Lexa's lips didn't move, but her eyes sparkled and it was beautiful. Clarke knew Lexa was smiling on the inside, and that was enough for her.

Lexa led them to another tent, one Clarke hadn't seen before. It was large and red. The two guards in front of it held it open, nodding at their heda. Clarke and Lexa walked inside and Clarke noticed that this was more of a gate than a tent. There was another opening on the other side of the tent. Clarke saw what looked like a basket filled with weapons. Lexa saw Clarke looking and said, ''The feast is a weapon free area. It is a moment of peace. This is where the guards search all the guests and remove their weapons. They can recollect them once they leave. I do not mean to disrespect you, Clarke of the Sky people, but do you have any weapons?'' ''No, I left my gun in my tent,'' Clarke answered, smiling at the way Lexa said her name. She loved hearing Lexa say it.

The feast was grand, to say the least. When Lexa said there would be a feast, Clarke expected a large table with a few people and wine. This looked more like the Great Hall in the Harry Potter movies she and Wells used to watch. There were four rows of tables next to each other and one big table placed next to them all, and nearly every spot was occupied. Clarke saw her people sitting at the table on the far right. Some of them waved at her and Clarke waved back. ''That is the Skaikru table. We have invited all of your people, and, to make you feel more at ease, Octavia and Raven are sitting with us, at the leader's table,'' Lexa told Clarke, pointing at the large table. She could see Indra, Octavia, Raven, Anya and a few people she didn't know. In the middle, there were two empty seats. The big one Clarke guessed was Lexa's. The other she wasn't sure. ''I have arranged for you to sit next to me. I hope that is okay,'' Lexa said. Clarke nodded. ''It is,'' she said.

Lexa led the way to the table, and everyone sitting at the leader's table stood up. ''Heda,'' they said in unison, bowing. The man sitting next to Lexa's chair looked at Clarke, observing her, not so much looking at her as looking through her. It made Clarke uncomfortable. ''Clarke of the Skypeople, this is Titus, the _fleimkepa_ and my most trusted adviser. '' _Titus, hit Clarke kom Skaikru op (Titus, meet Clarke of the Skypeople)_ ,'' Lexa said. Titus nodded at Clarke, who nodded in return. Then Titus turned to his heda and whispered something to her. Lexa shot him a glare. ''Do not question my decision, Titus. You remember what happened to the last man that did so, don't you?'' she hissed. Titus gulped and nodded. He did remember Tristan. The heda had bound Tristan on a tree and had cut a straight line from his chest to his abdomen. What fell out was something Titus would never be able to get out of his mind. He shuddered. '' _Sha, heda. Wigod ai op (Yes, commander. Forgive me)_.''

Lexa turned her back on Titus and nodded at the others at the table. Clarke felt a little out of place. Why was she up here as well? Lexa, seeming to read Clarke's mind, said, ''These are the clan leaders. You are a clan leader. And the reason we are having this feast. You belong at this table. As for Octavia and Raven, I have told the other clan leaders they are your advisers.'' Clarke nodded, ''Thank you.''

A boy Clarke hadn't noticed before, pulled back Clarke's seat and gestured for her to sit. ''Thank you,'' she said, smiling at the kid. He couldn't be older than fourteen. ''This is Artigas. He is a promising warrior,'' Lexa said, as he pulled out her chair as well. ''He did, however, steal my khol, so he will be less of a warrior and more of a servant for tonight,'' Lexa added, but when she looked at the boy, she didn't seem mad. In fact, her eyes were twinkling. Artigas blushed but gave a small grin. His eyes met Anya's, who looked at him apologetically. Artigas didn't mind. He owed her a favor from when she saved his life, he guessed this was it.

When all were seated, Lexa stood up. The people began cheering for their heda, raising their cups and chanting ''Heda!''

Lexa raised her hand and everyone fell silent. _The power her hand has_ , Clarke mused. _I can only imagine what- No, Clarke, shut it._

Clarke shook her head, getting rid of the thoughts. Why was she even thinking that?

She focused her attention back on Lexa, who had stood up and looked around.

'' _Monin en,_ welcome everyone. Thank you all for joining me tonight. Tonight, we have two reasons for this feast. First and foremost, the pauna is dead. _Heda Klark kom Skaikru_ has killed the pauna. We can now take the east route past the river again. Second, we welcome the Skaikru. We welcome them to the Earth. We recognize that the territory north of the river, where they landed, is their territory. More negotiations will possibly follow, and you will all be informed of them. Does anyone have something they would like to share? Now is the time,'' Lexa spoke, looking around.

A man stood up. '' _Sha_ , Tirkon. Speak,'' Lexa said, nodding at the man. ''North of the river is where the _maunon_ live. How can we trust the skaikru not to work with the maunon? They are more like them, after all. I say we kill them all before they kill us!'' Tirkon shouted, earning several yells of agreement. Lexa looked Tirkon in the eye and he seemed to quiver under his heda's stare. Lexa said nothing, but walked around the table until she stood right in front of Tirkon. Everyone was silent, Lexa didn't have to speak loudly to be heard. In fact, her voice was dangerously low.

''You disappoint me, Tirkon, in thinking you are safe to say anything you want. Just because no weapons are allowed here, doesn't mean I cannot kill you. I do not need weapons to kill you. How dare you question my decisions? Do you think you would make a better heda? Well, do you?'' Lexa hissed. Tirkon shook his head. ''No, heda, my apologies,'' he said. ''Sit down, say no more to me, do not look at me, and I might let you see the end of this night,'' Lexa spat. Tirkon nodded and hastily sat back down. Lexa turned back around and made her way back to her seat. ''Now let us eat,'' she said, raising her glass. Everyone raised their glasses and cheered, except Tirkon.

''That's a cute one you got yourself there, Griffin,'' Raven chuckled. Clarke decided to ignore her and instead turned to Lexa. ''Why are we more like the maunon?'' she asked Lexa. ''Because you speak _gonasleng_ and you fight with their weapons,'' Lexa answered. Clarke didn't have to be a genius to figure out that gonasleng meant English. It got her thinking about the grounder language. ''How come you developed a language over time?'' she asked. ''Our language originated from the Trikru, my clan. That is why it is called _trigedasleng_. _Trigeda_ for the tree people, _sleng_ for language. Back when the fire happened, our first commander saved everyone. She helped rebuild the villages. She created Polis, our capital. It was a dangerous place, however, because all our enemies knew it existed. So we didn't spend all our time there, but often moved between TonDC and Polis. We did not want our enemies to know where we would be, in case they were listening, so we started using code words. Those code words developed and became our language. Some of our people did not like living in the trees and they left, taking our language with them. That is how many of the other clans speak a form of Trigedasleng. Not quite the same, but very similar,'' Lexa explained.

''What are the other clans?'' Clarke asked curiously. She noticed Raven and Octavia were also intently listening.

''Well, there is the Trikru, of course. That is us. Indra is the Trikru leader. Then there is the Floukru, the boat people. They live east of us. They are a very peaceful clan. Their leader is Luna,'' Lexa said, and while her face remained stoic as ever, her eyes darkened as she spoke Luna's name. ''Then there is the Sankru, the desert clan, north of us. Their leader is Khanis, a hard man. You have to be hard to survive in the desert. Next is Yujleda, the Broadleaf clan, far south. They have two leaders, Jirita and Eshela, two twin sisters. They were born together and have vowed to do everything together. Then there is Boudalan, the Rock Line. They live west of us. They named their village Kmart, after a big building, the only thing that remained after the fire. They constantly switch between leaders. It is not a very stable clan,'' Lexa said. Octavia, Raven and Clarke all tried to stifle a laugh. They knew what K-mart was.

''Then, south of the Rock Line, there is the Trishanakru. They live in the Glowing Forest. Their leader is an old woman, Syassa. She is wise, but a little odd. Then you have the Ouskejon Kru, they live at the Blue Cliff, west of us, east of the Rock Line. The Delfikru, northwest of us. The Podakru, the Lake people, east of the Delfikru. The Ingranronakru, the Plains riders, furthest west. The Luwoda Kliron, they live at the shallow valley, south-west of us. And lastly, there is Azgeda, the Ice Nation, north of us. Their leader is evil, her name is Queen Nia. She is a vile and dangerous person. Do not ever seek contact with her,'' Lexa said, and something about the urgency in her voice told Clarke she had a bad relationship with the Ice Nation.

''It would be good if you had a map. I will give you one,'' Lexa added. ''Thank you,'' Clarke replied, nodding gratefully.

They fell silent when the servants began to serve everyone their food. There was enough meat for everyone, and Clarke wondered what pauna would taste like.

Clarke was snapped out of her thoughts when someone stopped in front of her, at the other side of the table. ''Klark kom Skaikru,'' the woman spoke. ''I am Kwenta of the Floukru,'' she continued, holding out her arm for Clarke. Clarke had seen Lexa and had seen how rather than shaking hands, they grasped arms, so she did so, hoping that was what Kwenta expected of her. Judging by the nod she gave her, it was. ''Our leader, Luna, has ordered me to give you this welcome gift. She would have liked to give it to you herself, but certain... circumstances forced her to stay at the sea,'' Kwenta said, glancing nervously at Lexa as she spoke of Luna. It didn't go unnoticed by Clarke, but she decided not to comment on it. Instead, she took the sachet Kwenta was offering her, nodding gratefully. '' _Mochof, Kwenta kom Floukru (Thank you, Kwenta of the Boat People)_ ,'' she said. She had picked up on some of the language, mainly the easy words such as 'thank you' and 'please'.

She opened the sachet and studied the small vial inside. It was not made of glass. In fact, she had no idea what it was made of. She did not know the contents of it, but Lexa seemed to know, as she slammed a fist on the table and glared at Kwenta. ''What is the meaning of this?'' she hissed. ''Luna thought it would be wise for the _Skai Prisa_ to have it. She is in dangerous territory, after all,'' Kwenta said, and Lexa didn't miss how she looked her in the eye when she spoke of dangerous territory. ''What is it?'' Clarke asked, confused. '' _Acefaya_ , fire that does not glow but burns through your skin. One drop and you burn a hole in your hand. If it were to spill onto you, you would be consumed by it. It would not stop burning until it burned all of you, leaving no bones, no ashes. Nothing,'' Lexa hissed angrily. Beside her, she heard Raven mutter, ''Hydrogen fluoride. Clarke, careful. I do not know how stable the vial is.''

Lexa leaned over the table and grabbed Kwenta by her throat. ''I had no choice in this, Heda. Luna made me do it,'' she gasped. By now, everyone had stopped and turned their attention toward what was happening.

Lexa took the vial from Clarke and shoved it in Kwenta's hands. ''Then you bring it back to the _Natrona_ ( _traitor_ ), and tell her the Skai Prisa is safe here. She has no need for the _acefaya_ , and if Luna is so eager to get rid of it, she should drink it,'' Lexa hissed. Then she called for Gustus. ''Show Kwenta the way out. And don't be gentle about it,'' she order. Gustus nodded his had and roughly grabbed Kwenta, dragging her behind him, away from the feast. Lexa took a deep breath and sat back down. Clarke dared not ask anyhting, but she knew there were many unresolved problems between Lexa and the leader of the Boat People.

''Thank you, Lexa,'' Clarke muttered. Lexa simply nodded her head, her face not betraying how she was feeling. No one was allowed to know how she was feeling. But oh, that did not mean she was not feeling. She was feeling too much.

*

The feast continued smoothly, there was laughter, drinking, celebrating and Clarke sighed, looking at her people, so happy. She could not help but feel like something bad was about to happen, lurking behind a corner, waiting for the right moment. Her gut feeling said that this was all to good to be true, and Clarke's gut feeling had never betrayed her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it was kinda boring, but i had to cut is short and i felt the need to add the bit of information about the clans. Also, I had exams so yeah


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bad thing happens, people get hurt and there's kind of a Clexa moment at the end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh i forgot i was posting this story on a03 as well so that's why it took so long for me to update. The a03 version is almost caught up to the wattpad version so it'll probably take longer to update bc i don't have the chapters written yet i still have to write them

**Chapter 11**

Clarke was right. Something bad happened.

The feast had continued smoothly, and at the end, Lexa had offered to walk her back to her tent. Clarke had happily agreed, though trying hard not to seem _too_  keen on the idea of the Commander walking her to her tent. The two had just gotten up from their table, when the bad thing happened.

*****

The two scouts who had been spying on the Skaikru for the past few days and had seen Lexa do the same, had not stopped. Their queen had ordered them to spy on the leader of the Skaikru, and it quickly became apparent that Clarke was the leader. So, when she went to Ton DC, the scouts followed. Unseen and unheard, of course, as they had trained to be. 

They overheard the _Heda_ and the _Skaiprisa_ , as people had decided to call Clarke, in the guard's tent, on their way to the feast. 

_''-I do not mean to disrespect you, Clarke, but do you have any weapons with you?'' ''No, I left my gun in my tent.''_

The woman looked at the man next to her. ''Mikas, did you hear that? We can get into the feast, remove our blades, no one will suspect we will have a gun with us,'' she said. The scouts looked at each other, and the man, Mikas, nodded. ''But we are _azgeda_ , do you think they will let us in?'' Mikas asked. ''They will if we change out of our clothes,'' the woman answered. Mikas nodded. 

Once in Clarke's tent, Mikas went to search for the gun, a task easier than either of them anticipated. ''Faie, look,'' he said, holding the gun up with care. Their people believed that if you touched a gun, the _maunon_  would kill your entire village. Still, it was a risk they were willing to take. ''Good, I found clothes,'' Faie said, holding up some of the clothes the _heda_  had lent Clarke. ''I am a man. I will not fit in those clothes,'' Mikas said, eyeing the clothes. ''Mikas, you are a boy. These clothes were made to fit women, with breasts. If anything, the clothes will be big on you,'' Faie said. Mikas rolled his eyes at his sister, but took the clothes without complaint. They changed quickly and Faie hid the gun under her clothes. 

''Let's do this.''

*

It was over before Clarke had even realized it had started. Bullets flew around them, until there were no more bullets. Then it was silent, until Clarke heard a _thud_  next to her. Raven was on the ground. Clarke heard a scream, or maybe it was her own, and she rushed to her best friend's side. She frantically looked around, and noticed more people on the ground. Indra. Artigas. More she did not recognize. She looked back at Raven and everything seemed to be going in slow motion. She was bleeding. Heavily. Clarke turned her friend around and sighed in relief. An exit wound. Octavia noticed her relief and looked at her curiously. ''An exit wound. That's good. It means the bullet is not inside of her,'' Clarke explained. Behind her, people were running, yelling. 

''Clarke, how do you feel about playing doctor?'' Raven groaned, grinning despite the pain. ''Not a better time than now,'' Clarke replied, but her eyes betrayed her. They always did. She was worried. ''Relax, princess,'' Raven said. Clarke shook her head. ''I can't lose you,'' she said, trying to hold back tears. She would not cry. ''You won't. I still have the moment of my Dream. It hasn't happened yet,'' Raven said. Octavia looked at Raven, and Raven looked at the girl pointedly. Clarke nodded. ''I will be right back, Octavia, put pressure on the wound. I have to find something to stitch the wound with,'' she said.

When Clarke left, Octavia looked at Raven. ''Rae... Why did you lie about your Dream?'' she asked. ''Because if Clarke knows that my Dream showed me getting shot and nothing else, no certainty of survival, she would freak out, and I need her with a clear mind if I want to have a chance at surviving,'' Raven groaned. 

Meanwhile, Lexa had rushed to follow the shooter, who had dashed away as soon as she ran out of bullets, two of her guards following behind her. The shooter wasn't alone, Lexa noticed, a boy was with her. She tried to figure out who they were as she followed them. She recognized the clothes, and with a start she realized: they were her clothes. Clothes she had lend to Clarke. She increased her speed, and with a final jump, she managed to tackle the girl to the ground. The boy stopped, but the girl yelled at him to run, and he did. ''Follow him!'' Lexa yelled at one of her guards, who nodded. More guards were following them, Lexa realized, when she saw another two dash after him.

Lexa looked at the girl beneath her. She was laying on her stomach, back facing Lexa. ''Attacking from behind? Weak,'' she girl muttered. ''Attacking at weapon free feast? Pathetic,'' Lexa growled. She held the girls arms with one hand and forcefully turned the girl's head so she could see at least part of her face. The first thing she noticed were the intricate markings on her face. _''Azgeda,''_  Lexa hissed. Lexa held the girl's wrists as she forcefully pulled her up. One of her guards handed her a rope, and Lexa tied them around the wrists. The girl smirked. ''Did you do the same to Costia, in bed? My queen did,'' she said. Lexa snarled and twisted the girls arms. Loud cracks were heard and the girl yelled out in pain. Lexa had broken both of her arms. ''That is for attacking my people at the feast,'' she said. Then she kicked the girl in the stomach. ''That is for insulting Costia.'' Despite the pain she was in, the girl smirked. ''Oh, my queen did much more than just insult her.'' 

Before Lexa could no anything else, the guards who were chasing the boy came back. Only, without the boy. ''Where is he?'' Lexa hissed. ''Forgive us, _heda_ , he got away,'' one of the guards said. Lexa growled but nodded. ''Lock this girl up. I must return to the feast.'' _''Sha, heda,''_  the guards said. Lexa ran back to the feast, grabbing her two swords from where she had left them at the tent. 

Chaos. That was the only word to describe the situation. ''Skaikru did this!'' yelled a guy. ''We had nothing to do with this!'' Murphy yelled back. ''Why would we shoot our own people!'' another _skaikru_  Lexa did not know added. _Their own people? Clarke!_  Lexa searched for the blonde, and sighed in relief when she saw her crouched over someone else. Then, she realized it was Raven, and Lexa's heart raced. Clarke cared for Raven. What if Raven was- No, she should not care about people she did not know like that. 

Lexa searched for people she _did_  know. ''Indra!'' she yelled, making her way to her most trusted warrior. ''I'm fine, _heda_ , it is just my shoulder. Artigas is fine as well. Shot in the arm, nothing too bad. I already closed our wounds with a heated blade,'' Indra replied gruffly. Lexa nodded, eyes not leaving Indra. Indra seemed to know what Lexa wanted to know. ''Three dead so far, _heda_ ,'' she said. ''Who?'' ''Tirkon, who disrespected you earlier, and Nikra, ambassador of the Sankru,'' Indra replied. ''And the other one?'' Lexa asked. '' _Skaikru_. A boy named Atom,'' Indra replied. ''Clarke is trying to help the bird girl,'' she added. Lexa nodded, turning to look at the blonde, hands working on patching up her best friend. 

Lexa stood up, and climbed on the table. Once people noticed their heda, hand raised, demanding silence, they stopped talking, stopped yelling, stopped whatever they were doing. She noticed the Skaikru table with two dead bodies, bothe bodies being held by crying people. 

'' _Heda_ , what happened?'' someone asked. ''Was it _skaikru_?'' another asked. ''No, it was not skaikru. The fact that you ask that, when one of their people are dead and another one is injured, makes me question your intelligence. It was _azgeda._  How they managed to get their hands on a gun is uncertain, but I have a theory, and we have the shooter. What happened here will not go unpunished,'' Lexa spoke. 

Her people yelled in agreement. They started chanting for their _heda_. _''Jus drein jus daun (Blood must have blood)!''_

Lexa nodded, starting to chant the prhase as well. _''Jus drein jus daun!''_

_*_

Meanwhile, Clarke was on the verge of tears. But she wouldn't cry. ''Raven wake up. Rae. C'mon,'' she tried, shaking her friend, ''Raven, c'mon. I know you'll survive because you still have a Dream to live, but please.'' Octavia looked at Clarke, sighing. ''Clarke. Raven lied about her Dream,'' she said. Clarke looked up. ''What? What do you mean?'' Clarke asked. ''Raven's Dream showed her getting shot. Nothing more. We don't know if she'll survive,'' Octavia explained. ''Wh- I don't understand, why would she lie about that?'' Clarke asked. ''Because she did not want you to worry about her,'' Octavia answered. Clarke yelled out, ''Damn it, Raven!''

''Clarke? Is she dead?'' Clarke looked up, Lexa's green eyes looking down at her in worry. ''No. She's alive. For now. She's lost a lot of blood. I- Do you have a small tube? And something sharp? Like a needle?'' Clarke replied, suddenly getting an idea. She was O-negative, a universal donor. _''Gustus!_ Go find me a small tube and something small and sharp, like a needle,'' Lexa ordered. _''Sha, heda,''_  Gustus replied, running off to find what is _heda_  needed.

''What will you do with the tube and the needle?'' Lexa asked, kneeling down beside Clarke. Most of the people had returned to their tents, others were rushed to the healer's tent. ''Blood transfusion,'' Clarke replied. Lexa looked confused, and Clarke realized she probably didn't know what a blood transfusion was. ''I'm going to give Raven some of my blood because she lost a lot of it,'' she explained, just ad Gustus returned with the supplies.

Clarke worked quickly, and not even five minutes later, she was sitting on the ground next to Raven, blood flowing from her arm to Raven. Lexa looked at the flow of Clarke's blood. ''Will it not drain you?'' Lexa asked. ''Not if I stop on time. Which, is now,'' Clarke said, carefully removing the tube and needle. ''Will she be okay?'' Finn asked, who had come to sit down next to Octavia. ''She has to be,'' Clarke said. ''Will you be okay?'' Lexa asked, not knowing how bad this could affect Clarke. ''I'll be a little dizzy, but I'll be fine,'' Clarke said, smiling at Lexa. ''Can we get Raven away from here? Maybe the healer's tent?'' Octavia asked. Lexa looked at Octavia, eyebrow raised. ''Commander,'' Octavia added, bowing her head in respect. Lexa nodded.

She stood up, and waved over two of her guards. ''Bring Raven _kom Skaikru_ to the healer's tent,'' she ordered. They nodded, and one of them picked up Raven. ''Careful. Her wounds could open,'' Clarke said. Lexa was ready to tell her guards to do as Clarke said, but, much to her surprise, they did not have to be told. They simply nodded, and said, '' _Sha, Skaiprisa._ '' 

Lexa raised her eyebrows. ''They respect you,'' she told Clarke. ''How do you know?'' ''I did not have to tell them to listen to you, they just did,'' Lexa explained. ''What is a _skaiprisa_?'' Clarke asked. ''It means sky princess. It is what my people call you,'' Lexa said. Everyone aorund them had left, apart from Gustus. ''Go home, Gustus. Tell Nyko I thank him for his work, as I thank you for yours,'' Lexa said. Gustus nodded, and he smiled a little at the mention of his husband. Lexa envied that. Their love. She was _heda_. She was not supposed to love. Titus had told her as much. Love was weakness. To be commander meant to be alone. Lexa knew. But for tonight, she decided to forget Titus' teachings. 

''Clarke. Would you like to join me on a walk? I tend to walk to clear my mind. I think clearing our minds is something we could both use, after what happened tonight,'' Lexa said, hoping she did not sound as nervous as she felt. _Why was she nervous? She was heda of the twelve clans. She did not get nervous._

Clarke smiled and nodded. ''I could really use that, yeah,'' she said. Lexa waved away her guards who were ready to follow her. She led Clarke away from where the feast had taken place and into the woods. ''Is this the part where you kill me?'' Clarke joked. Lexa frowned. ''Why would I kill you? You have given me no reason to do so after killing the _pauna_ ,'' she said. Clarke chuckled. ''Just a joke,'' she said. ''You have a lot of those. Your people seem fond of jokes and, what did the boy with the goggles say... prankies?'' Lexa asked. Clarke giggled and Lexa found herself loving the sound. ''Pranks. Yeah, that's Monty and Jasper's thing. I don't know, I guess people just like laughing at silly things,'' Clarke shrugged. Lexa nodded. ''My people don't laugh nearly enough,'' she sighed. 

''Maybe it's because they don't see you laugh,'' Clarke said, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Lexa was called the commander of blood, and not because she was such a warmblooded person. Lexa was known for being coldblooded, not hesitating to kill when necessary. Lexa didn't seem mad, though. If anything, she seemed sad.

''There was a time when I did laugh. Perhaps too much,'' she said. ''What happened?'' Clarke asked softly. ''I lost someone special to me once. Her name was Costia. She was captured by the Ice Nation, whose queen believed she knew my secrets. Because she was mine, they tortured her, killed her, cut off her head. They delivered it to my bed,'' Lexa said, her face not betraying her emotions, apart from her eyes. They showed a great sadness. 

''I'm sorry,'' Clarke said. ''I thought I'd never get over the pain,'' Lexa continued, ''but I did.'' ''How?'' Clarke wondered. She could use some advice, getting over her father's death. ''By recognizing it for what it is. Weakness,'' Lexa said, face stoic as ever. ''What is?'' Clarke asked, ''Love?'' Lexa nodded. ''So you just stopped caring? About everyone?'' Clarke asked incredulously. Lexa nodded again. ''I could never do that,'' Clarke said. ''Then you put the people you care about in danger, and the pain will never go away,'' Lexa said, looking at Clarke. She mentally scolded herself. _Way to woo the ladies, Lexa_. She noticed Clarke looking at her, eyes betraying her doubt. ''The dead are gone, Clarke. The living are hungry,'' Lexa said. 

Clarke thought about those words. She supposed Lexa was right, in a way. There was nothing you could do about death. But you could make life more pleasant for others. 

The two girls continued walking, until they reached a river side. ''I like to come here to think,'' Lexa said, sitting down on a rock, leaving space for Clarke to sit next to her. It wasn't a big rock, so their thighs and shoulders were touching. If it were anyone else, Lexa would have killed them already. But not Clarke. ''Is that were you came from?'' Lexa asked, pointing at the stars above them. Clarke said nothing, but studied the sky for a moment, until she noticed a star shining brighter than the others. It wasn't a star. ''That's where I came from. That's the Ark,'' Clarke said, pointing at the Ark. ''Is that where your people are? The rest of your people?'' Lexa asked. Clarke nodded. ''So you're a child of outer space,'' Lexa said. ''Born among the stars. You're a galaxy,'' she continued. 

Clarke didn't know why, or how, but she nearly teared up at those words. They sounded so pure, so innocent. Clarke couldn't believe the commander of the 12 clans could speak so softly, so beautifully. She went from talking about death, to wondering about the stars and where Clarke was born in a couple of minutes time. ''You think I'm a galaxy?'' Clarke asked. Lexa nodded, looking very serious. ''You have stars in your eyes, I see them, they shine. And your mind is a constellation of information and memories. You're a galaxy, _Klark kom Skaikru_ ,'' she said, nodding as if she were confirming her own words.

Clarke smiled. ''Thank you,'' she said, and she felt lame saying it. Lexa had just said the most beautiful thing she had ever heard, and here she was, simply thanking her. It seemed as if Lexa understood how much it meant to Clarke, though, as she nodded, fingers gracing Clarke's shoulder before resting on her own lap. 

The two were silent for a while, until Clarke spoke up. ''How did you become commander?'' she asked. ''I told you. On my ascension, I-'' ''No, I mean, _how_. How does it work?'' 

Lexa sighed. ''The _fleimkepa_ , Titus, has scouts to search for nightbloods. If a _natblida_ is found, they are sent to Polis, our capitol, and trained to be commander. We teach them the values, what it means to be commander, how to fight, how to lead. Then, when the commander dies, there is a Conclave. The _fleimkepa_ removes the flame from the previous commander. Then the fighting takes place. We fight until there is one survivor. The _natblidas_  are young, they're children. The winner becomes _heda_. The _fleimkepa_  gives them the flame, and then you have to recite the names of all previous commanders. Then there is a ritual, the ascension ritual, and then the winner is officially _heda_ ,'' Lexa explains. Clarke expected her to be proud of it, but when she looked at Lexa, she saw a young girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders. 

''How old were you? When you became commander?'' Clarke asked. ''Just turned twelve, the youngest ever,'' Lexa replied, voice solemn, eyes sad. Clarke's heart ached for the other girl. ''How do your parents feel about this?'' Clarke asked. ''They are dead. They told me I was not their commander, that I would always be their little girl. They meant no harm, they were words of love. But my advisers and the ambassadors said it was outrageous, told me to execute them, or they would not acknowledge me as a real _heda_. My first order as _heda_  was the execution of my parents,'' Lexa said, and no one would ever dare mention it, but her eyes glistened with tears. No tears fell, but they were there, the pain, hurt, betrayal, loss, years of loneliness. 

Lexa expected Clarke to either be disgusted by what she did, or laugh at her weakness. She did not expect the blonde to grab her hand, rubbing circles on the back of it with her thumb. 

''I'm sorry. For everything. You never had the chance to be a child, to be free, and it hurts me. You've been alone for so long, but you don't have to be alone anymore, Lexa. You and I, we have a connection. I saw you in my Dream, and you saw me in yours. That means something, it means whatever we want it to mean, and I want it to mean that you are not alone anymore. I am here,'' Clarke said. Lexa blinked and she looked at Clarke. ''My Dream. This was it. This, you, me- we,'' Lexa stuttered, mentally scolding herself. The commander of the twelve clans did _not_  stutter. Clarke's eyes widened, and the smiled at Lexa. ''I hope I didn't disappoint,'' she joked. Lexa smiled. ''You didn't,'' she said. She realized Clarke was still holding her hand, but she did not mind. She hoped the blonde would not let go, at least not yet. Lexa liked this feeling, of not being _heda_  for a little while. 

''What is your favorite memory?'' Clarke asked. Lexa was a bit taken aback, not expecting a question, let alone this question, but she smiled. ''My fifth birthday. My parents got me my _real_ first sword, a medical cit to go along with it. I met Costia on my fifth birthday as well. I was showing everyone my first sword and Costia was the daughter of the _heda_ 's personal cook. She gave me a cookie, I gave her a kiss in return. It is one of my first memories, and one of my fondest memories,'' she said. Clarke smiled, imagining a tiny Lexa, full of life and energy and happiness, running around with her sword, her parents calling at her, telling her running with a sword was dangerous. 

''Why do you act the way you do when in front of your people?'' Clarke asked, wondering where little innocent Lexa had gone. ''Because I am _heda_. Love is weakness. I have to be strong, to carry my people's burdens, lead them to war and back home safely. I am responsible for everyone. I cannot have joy when they do not have it. My people come first,'' Lexa explained. She sounded sad about it. ''What about your sister?'' Clarke asked. She was overcome with curiosity, desperately wanting to know more about the girl next to her. Not the commander, but _Lexa_ , the nineteen year old girl who had not had a childhood, simply to ensure the other children did. 

Lexa sighed. She should not talk about her sister, but something about Clarke made it so easy to open up. ''She is two years older. We used to be close, so close. She taught me how to draw a tree. She said that, as a _trikru natblida_ , I had to know how to draw a tree. It is the only thing I can draw. Then, I became _heda_ , and I had to have our parents executed. She has never forgiven me for it. She told me I was weak for killing them, for listening to what the people said. She did not know, she still does not know, that I did it to protect her. If I was not acknowledged as _heda_ , they would kill me, and what was left of my family. I had to, or more than two would have died. Sacrifice the few to safe the many. Luna left, became the leader of the boat people, and vowed to never kill anyone. I do not blame her for hating me. I hate me, too,'' Lexa admitted. Clarke frowned. ''I don't,'' she said, ''I don't hate you, Lexa. I admire you for your strength and everything you have sacrificed to save your people.'' 

Lexa smiled at Clarke. ''You say that now. I have so much blood on my hands, Clarke. I kept track of every life I took, the first two years after becoming _heda_. But it was too much, too dark. I light candles now, to remember the lives I took. Then, at the very least, it brings a little light,'' she said. _So that's the deal with the candles,_  Clarke thought. She absentmindedly entwined her fingers with Lexa's. 

''If I am a galaxy, then you are a mountain. Strong, immovable, grounded. Shaped through the years, only to create an even more beautiful image,'' Clarke said. Lexa smiled. 

''So the ground meets the sky.''


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa and Clarke confront Faie, clan leaders are called, Lexa and Indra teach Clarke a couple of things and they leave TonDC.

Lexa and Clarke had decided to head back when Clarke yawned. 

''You're tired. Let's go back,'' Lexa said.

''It's fine, Lexa, don't worry,'' Clarke said. ''No, you should sleep.'' ''What about you?'' Clarke wondered. ''I have an Azgeda scout to interrogate,'' Lexa said as she got up, holding out a hand to help Clarke off the rock. ''Yes, about that, Lexa. I'm sorry,'' Clarke said. Lexa frowned. ''Why? You had nothing to do with it.'' ''Yeah, but it was my gun. Because of me, two of your people are now dead and more are injured,'' Clarke said. ''She shot two of your people, as well. Raven, and Atom. I am sorry about his death,'' Lexa said. Clarke gasped. ''He's dead?'' ''Yes, I am sorry. I thought you knew?'' Lexa said. Clarke shook her head. ''I was so busy with Raven and... Oh my god, he was Murphy's friend. I- Oh my God,'' Clarke rambled. ''Clarke, calm down. We're going back now. Is there anything I can do to help? Do you have a ritual after death?'' Lexa asked as they made their way back to TonDC.

Clarke shook her head. ''On the Ark, we dropped their bodies to the Earth. Our final journey to the ground,'' Clarke said. Lexa nodded, not knowing what to say. Lexa was a firm believer of not saying anything if she had nothing good to say. Why waste breath on meaningless words?

When they got back, the first thing Clarke did was look for Murphy. Luckily, that wasn't hard. The boy was sitting on a log, holding something in his hands. Looking closer, Clarke recognized it as Atom's knife. ''Hey,'' Clarke said, sitting down next to him. Lexa did not want to intrude, but she did mean to ask Clarke if she wanted to accompany her to interrogate the girl. She stole something of theirs, after all. And killed one of her people. Lexa decide to wait for them, far enough to give them some space.

''He was so excited about dessert. He never got to find out what grounders eat for dessert,'' Murphy spoke quietly. ''I'm sorry. I know he was your friend,'' Clarke said, placing a hand on Murphy's shoulder. The fact that he let her was saying something. Murphy wasn't keen on physical contact. ''He was there for me, after my parents died,'' Murphy said. Clarke felt sad, she didn't know their friendship went back to the Ark. ''His last words were to me. 'Bury me', he said,'' Murphy asked, but there was something distant about him. He was there, but not really. Lexa stepped forward, having heard the conversation. 

''Close to your camp, there is a high hill. It looks out on your camp, as well as ours, and you can even see the sea if you look hard enough, and the tower of Polis. I can show you there,'' she said. Lexa didn't know why she said it, they were not her people, not her concern. But Clarke's grateful smile her way was enough reason. Murphy looked up, and nodded. ''Thank you, commander. He would like that,'' he said, voice wavering. Lexa nodded, and stepped back again. She had just given up _her_  favorite spot, but for Clarke, it was worth it. 

''Clarke, find out how they got a gun, and make sure justice is served, okay? Atom deserves that much,'' Murphy asked. Clarke nodded. ''Of course,'' she said. ''Don't do anything stupid,'' she warned the boy, who nodded. Clarke got up and made her way to Lexa. ''Guess I'm coming with you,'' she said. ''I was expecting that much. She stole from you, and killed one of your people,'' Lexa said, nodding. 

Clarke was expecting the girl to be held in a tent of some sorts. She was wrong. She was held in an old underground subway station. When they saw their _heda_  approaching, the guards bowed their head in respect, stepping aside to let her through. The girl did not look up when Lexa told her to meet her eyes. ''Coward,'' Lexa hissed, lifting the girl up by her neck and forcing her to meet her gaze. ''Do not disrespect your _heda_ ,'' Lexa said. ''What does it matter? You're going to kill me, anyway,'' the girl muttered. Lexa nodded, ''Yes. I was planning to make you suffer the pain of three deaths, since you killed three people. But I can make it more, if you do not respect me.''

The girl huffed, but said nothing in return. ''What is your name?'' Lexa asked. ''Faie.'' ''Well, _Faie kom Azgeda_ , you have a lot of explaining to do,'' Lexa said. ''Why don't we start with how you got the gun?'' she continued. ''The _skaiprisa_ 's tent is just full of surprises,'' Faie said, but when she said _'skaiprisa'_ it was mockingly. Lexa noticed, and she tightened her grip on Faie's neck. ''You will respect the _skaiprisa_ ,'' she said. ''Why? Is she your new toy? Oh, Nia will be pleased to hear about that. Another weakness,'' Faie said, grinning mailicously. Lexa said nothing, but the fire in her eyes were enough to slightly scare Faie. Not that she would ever admit that. Lexa unseathed one of her knifes. ''Commander?'' Clarke asked. Lexa ignored her. She brought her sword to Faie's shoulder, pressing the tip into her skin. Blood stained the shirt, and Lexa started dragging the knife down to her hand. The cut along Faie's arm wasn't deep, but it was enough to hurt, if Faie's grunt was anything to go by. ''Who was the boy with you?'' Clarke stepped forward. Faie glared at her and kept her mouth shut. ''Answer her,'' Lexa snapped. ''My brother,'' Faie muttered. ''His name?'' Lexa inquired. Faie said nothing, and Lexa held her sword to the girl's throat. ''His name?'' ''Mikas.'' Lexa quickly let go of the girl. Faie and Mikas. Lexa recognized those names. 

*****

_''Heda!_ '' ''Call upon the generals of all armies, except for  _Azgeda_ 's army. We will meet in Polis in three days,'' Lexa ordered, marching into the war tent. Clarke came in running after her. ''What is going on, _heda_?'' Indra asked. ''Faie and Mikas.'' Everyone present gasped, but Clarke still did not understand. ''Who are Faie and Mikas?'' Lexa looked at Clarke, sighing heavily when she said the next word. _''Maunon.''_

Clarke frowned. ''But- you said mountain men needed a suit to walk the earth,'' she said. Lexa nodded. ''Yes. But rumors have been spreading. People said that Azgeda found two young maunon and took them in, about two months ago. They had no memory. Their names were supposedly Faie and Mikas, the Ice Queen named them that. Up until now, I thought that was a lie. But, as turns out, it is not. The _maunon_  have found a way to live without their suits. Which makes them even more dangerous than they were. We will have to be more careful. Indra, Gustus, double the scouts and guards. Anything the _maunon_  do, I want to know it. Anything out of the ordinary, let me know,'' Lexa said. ''The mauntain men, they're your biggest enemy, right?'' Clarke asked. Lexa nodded. ''So this is bad. Very bad,'' Clarke said. Lexa nodded again, while Indra huffed. ''Can the sky princess do anything other than state the obvious?'' she asked mockingly. _''Em pleni, Indra (Enough, Indra).''_  Lexa said. 

'' _Heda_ ,'' Anya stepped forward. Lexa nodded, allowing her to speak. ''The generals of the armies have not been called upon in a long time. It is sure to draw attention. Is it wise, to draw so much attention when the _maunon_  are stronger than they have ever been?'' Anya asked. Lexa seemed to think about it, and Anya added, ''We all know some of the generals like to travel in... style.'' Lexa nodded. She knew, some of the generals thought themselves royalty and traveled with half their army, no matter how often Lexa urged them not to. ''What do you propose?'' she asked Anya. ''Call upon the clan leaders. They are more levelheaded and will surely know what to do. They can pass on the information to their generals,'' Anya replied. Lexa nodded, but inside, she was already dreading it. It meant seeing Luna. Still, she agreed, and ten minutes later the messengers were heading out.

Everyone but Lexa, Anya and Clarke left the tent. ''Heda, forgive me. I know how you feel about seeing your sister again, but the generals would draw too much attention,'' Anya said, looking at Lexa apologetically. Lexa nodded, ''It's fine. It's about time we come face to face. Talk to the _natrona_.'' ''What's a natrona?'' Clarke asked. ''Traitor. When I told you about my sister, that was part of it. Five years after I had to execute my parents, I had managed to establish a coalition with nearly every clan, other than _Azgeda_. While Luna vowed to never kill again, it seems I was an exception to that promise. Luna visited, claiming she wanted to make amends. She lied. She attempted to kill me. No one aside from Anya, Indra and Gustus, and now you, know. If word got out, I would be expected to execute her, as is common when dealing with traitors. But I cannot do that. Weak as it may be, I already ruined enough of our family,'' Lexa explained. Clarke frowned. She felt for Lexa, who had done nthing but sacrifice her own happiness for her people. 

''I'm sorry,'' she said. Lexa shrugged. ''Nothing I can do, now,'' she said. ''Perhaps you should talk to her,'' Anya proposed carefully. ''The last time we talked she nearly killed me. If we are to talk, it will be with her thoroughly searched. I know I always say that death is not the end, but I cannot afford to die right now. Not with that's happening. People are still angry and confused about the _skaikru_ , add to that the _Azgeda_ and _maunon_ problem. A conclave is the last thing we need right now. My people deserve stability,'' Lexa said. Anya nodded, ''So we will search her. More guards will surround and protect you. The clan leaders will be in Polis in three days. We will place extra guards around the entire city and inside and outside your tower. The throne room and your room, especially.'' Lexa nodded. ''Very well. _Mochof, Anya (Thank you, Anya)_ ,'' she said, then turning to Clarke. 

''Clarke. Come with us to the capitol. You are the _skai prisa_ , the leader of your people. You may not be one of the clans of the coalition, but you are a clan leader. You are allowed to bring your two advisors, of course,'' Lexa said. ''How will we go to the capitol?'' Clarke asked. The second Lexa asked her to come with her, Clarke had already made up her mind. Of course she would go with Lexa to the capitol. For her people of course. It's important she knows what's happening. But she wasn't sure if Raven would be able to go. Speaking of the girl, she had to visit her as soon as possible, she was worried about her friend. She knew she was resting now, though. ''On horseback,'' Lexa replied. ''Then I am afraid I will have to leave Raven here. I need her to be safe. I will be there, though. With Octavia and perhaps someone to take Raven's place,'' Clarke decided. Lexa nodded, then seemed to remember something. 

''Clarke, have you ever ridden a horse before?'' she asked and if Clarke didn't know any better, she would say Lexa was almost smiling. Perhaps at the idea of Clarke not knowing how to ride a horse and clumsily struggling. ''I don't, we don't have horses in space,'' she replied cautiously. ''Well, I suggest you get some rest then. I have placed extra guards at your tent. I will teach you first thing in the morning. And whoever you decide to bring, too. You need to be able to ride a horse, since we leave the day after tomorrow at first sunlight. It is a long ride to Polis,'' Lexa said with a finality in her tone that left little room for argument. Clarke nodded and with a final goodbye to Lexa and Anya, before heading back to her tent. She noticed the guard following her and while she usually would have been bothered by it, she could take care of herself after all, it gave her an odd sense of comfort and gratitude.

*****

The following morning, the first thing Clarke did was make her way to the healer's tent, where she found Raven asleep. She hated to wake her, but she needed to know how she was doing. Lexa said she would pick her up at first light. It was still dark, but the sun would rise soon. Octavia was still asleep, as was Wells, who she had invited to take Raven's place. She would have invited Murphy, but he wanted to be there for Atom's funeral. ''Rae,'' Clarke whispered, even though there was no one else in the tent. ''Rae. Raven, wake up,'' she said, slightly nudging the older girl. Raven let out a groan. ''Clarkey?'' she muttered, still half-asleep. ''Yes, Rae, it's Clarkey. Wake up,'' Clarke chuckled. Raven rubbed her eyes, then winced. ''Does it hurt?'' Clarke asked. ''No, I winced at the sun light seeping through the windows,'' Raven lied. ''Raven, first of all, it's still dark, second, the tent does not have windows. I'm going to lift your shirt up to examine the wound,'' Clarke said. Raven groaned, but lifter her hands as if to give her permission. 

''It seems to be healing well. You'll be fine any way, you still have your Dream,'' Clarke said. Raven bit her lip. ''Yeah, about that...'' she muttered. ''Rae? You haven't experienced the moment shown in your Dream yet, right? You're still safe until it happens, right?'' Clarke asked but she feared she already knew the answer. ''I lied, Clarke. I didn't want to worry you. I wanted you to be sure you could safe me, because then you could. I was scared that if you got worried you'd fuck up,'' Raven admitted. ''What was it? The moment of your Dream?'' Clarke asked. ''The moment I got shot,'' Raven replied. Clarke was about to say something, when she heard Lexa's voice. ''No door, so again, I'll just pretend to knock. Knock, knock,'' she called from outside of the tent. ''Don't even try a knock knock joke, they don't know those here,'' Clarke said, noticing Raven open her mouth to say something. ''Dammit,'' she muttered. ''Come in,'' Clarke called. 

Lexa walked in and nodded in greeting. ''Clarke, Raven.'' ''Commander,'' Raven said, struggling to sit up. ''No need for that, you must rest and heal,'' Lexa said, to which Clarke smiled gratefully. Raven laid back down and nodded. ''Clarke, I expected to find you here. Ready for your classes?'' Lexa asked. ''Classes? Teaching her how to f-'' ''Raven. Lexa is teaching me how to ride a horse. We're going to Polis, the capitol, tomorrow, because shit happened. You're not well enough to travel on horseback so I've asked Wells to take your place,'' Clarke interrupted. Raven nodded. ''I know. O told me. Go, let me sleep,'' Raven grumbled. Clarke frowned. She knew Raven was upset she couldn't come with them. ''Get well soon, Rae,'' Clarke whispered, squeezing her friends hand and kissing her on the forehead, before standing up and leaving with Lexa. 

''I hope you're well rested. I have arranged for you, Octavia and Wells to each get your own horse, they're good horses. These three horses are a gift, from _trikru_  to _skaikru._ Your friend Octavia insisted on naming them,'' Lexa said as she walked Clarke to the stables. ''Clarke!'' Octavia said, noticing her friend and running up to her to hug her. ''We got horses! Real ones! I named them! Good morning, _heda_ ,'' Octavia said excitedly. Wells looked a little less excited. ''Octavia took it upon herself to name all the horses. I didn't even get any say,'' he grumbled. ''Let me guess, something with mythology,'' Clarke chuckled. Octavia nodded excitedly, ''Yes! The black one is Hera, the white one is Aphrodite and the brown Athena. Those three goddesses all wanted Eres' golden apple and Zeus decided Paris should decide who got it. It's essentially what also started the Trojan war.'' Clarke nodded, remembering the story. Octavia had told her all about Greek mythology. ''So, who gets which horse?'' she wondered. ''Well, I figured you'd get Hera. Because she is the Queen of Heaven. I found it fitting, since you're the leader of the _skaikru,_ '' Octavia explained. Clarke smiled at her friend, finding it amazing how much thought and effort Octavia put in everything she did. ''Let me guess, Athena for you? Because she is the goddess of wisdom, craft and war, right?'' she asked, to which Octavia nodded excitedly. ''So that leaves Aphrodite for me? Because she's the goddess of love and beauty?'' Wells asked, seeming touched at the idea. 

''No,'' Octavia shook her head, ''because that's the only one left.''

Clarke laughed at that and Wells flipped her off. Lexa cleared her throat behind them, and Octavia's eyes widened. At first Clarke thought it was because of the commander, but then she saw Octavia eyeing a tall, muscular guy beside her. ''Clarke, Octavia and Whales  _kom Skaikru_ ,'' Lexa started. Wells didn't dare correct her and Clarke and Octavia had to hold back laughter. ''I have asked two very skilled warriors of mine, Anya and Lincoln, to help with the task of getting you three ready to ride a horse by tomorrow. Lincoln, as you are already acquainted with Octavia, I suggest you teach her. Anya, you are to teach Wells. I will take it upon myself to teach Clarke. Let us get started.''

''Good morning, Octavia,'' Clarke heard Lincoln say to her best friend, who blushed but nodded. ''Good morning, Lincoln.'' Anya was a little less warm. ''Big Fish, get your ass over here,'' she commanded. ''Big Fish?'' Wells asked. ''Well, your name is Whales. A whale was a big fish,'' Anya shrugged. ''Actually, my name is Wells. Wells, not whales. And a whale was actually a mammal, not a fish,'' Wells corrected. Anya shrugged. '' _Heda_ , commander, _Azgeda_ , Ice Nation. It's all the same.''

Lexa took a step closer to Clarke. ''Clarke, are you ready?'' she asked. Clarke nodded. Lexa and Clarke made their way over to where Hera was patiently waiting. ''What was the story with the names?'' Lexa wondered. Clarke smiled. ''It is Greek mythology. I'll tell you all about it one day, if you wish,'' she said. Lexa nodded, ''I would like that. Now, let's start. First, how to mount the horse. Place your hands on it's back. Don't mount just yet.'' Clarke did as she was told, holding her hands on the horse's back. Clarke had imagined it to be easy, she had expected there would be saddles, like in the old movies and books they had on the Ark. But there was no saddle. Just a fur on the horse's back. Clarke suddenly got nervous. What if she messed up and made a fool of herself? What if the horse hated her and would refuse to cooperate? As if sensing her nerves, Lexa spoke up. ''You have to be calm, Clarke. Hera will know if you are nervous and that will make her nervous, too. Let go of your nerves, Clarke.'' Lexa placed a hand on Clarke's arm and did anything but calm Clarke's nerves. Quite the opposite, actually.

The rest of morning Clarke spent falling, getting up again and having a heart attack every time Lexa touched her to help her back on her horse. Clarke was a fast learner, but Lexa wanted her to be prepared for everything, so she even got two servants to loudly clash pots and pans to scare the horses. Clarke remained seated, and Lexa seemed proud. Wells fell, Anya laughed. Octavia remained seated as well, and Lincoln smiled at her broadly. ''I believe you are ready, Clarke of the Sky People,'' Lexa said as Clarke swiftly got off her horse and patted its neck. ''At what time to we leave?'' Clarke asked. ''At the crack of dawn. It is a long trip. I suggest you head to bed early and get all the rest you can get. That goes to all of you,'' Lexa replied, directing the last bit to the four people behind her. Everyone nodded in return, and Lexa turned back to Clarke. ''Clarke, there is something else I must ask of you,'' Lexa said. ''What is it?'' Clarke asked. ''As much as I dislike saying this, because I know you are nothing like the _maunon_ , I need you to dress more like us. Once again, I know you're nothing like the _maunon_ , but my people have their doubts, they do not respond well to changes and having _maunon_  be able to walk on our land is already a big change as it is,'' Lexa explained. Clarke nodded, ''Sure thing. But we'll need some clothes.'' ''Already taken care of. Thank you, Clarke,'' Lexa said, nodding gratefully. ''You're welcome. Thank _you_  for teaching me how to ride a horse and for being so kind to us. I know your people don't exactly agree,'' Clarke responded. ''My people are not _heda_. They can have their opinions, but at the end of the day, I make the decisions. And I made the decision to trust you.'' ''Thank you for that, commander,'' Clarke said. ''Please don't make me regret it,'' Lexa replied. Too many people had betrayed her. She hoped Clarke would not be one of them. 

*****

The following day, Clarke woke up before first light. She got dressed in the clothes Lexa had given her but once she got to the armor, she was lost. ''Fuck,'' she muttered. What now? She had no choice but to go find someone who could help her. She stepped out of her tent, armor in her arms and looked around. ''Need help with that?'' Clarke turned around and found Lincoln, trying to hide a smile. ''I helped Octavia, too. I guessed you might need help as well so I decided to go check on you,'' he explained. Clarke nodded. ''Yes, please. All these straps and things, I don't know what to do with them,'' she said. Lincoln got to work, and less than ten minutes later, Clarke was all geared up. ''Done. Do you have everything?'' Lincoln asked. Clarke nodded and Lincoln smiled. ''Let's get going, then.''

Octavia was busy helping Wells with his armor while Anya, Lexa and Indra seemed to be in deep conversation. ''The _skaiprisa_  has honored us with her presence,'' Indra drawled sarcastically. _''Shof op,_ Indra. Good morning, Clarke, Lincoln. Right on time. We are waiting for Titus, he will be traveling with us,'' Lexa said. ''Who else will be going with us?'' Wells ask. Before Lexa could answer, Indra stepped forward. ''When addressing the commander, you use her title. You ought to respect her,'' she snarled. ''My apologies. Who else will be traveling with us, commander?'' Wells asked, seeming terrified of Indra. ''Anya, Indra, Titus, Gustus, Lincoln, the three of you and some of my warriors. Speaking of Titus, there he is,'' Lexa said, noticing the bald man walking up to them. ''Mount your horses,'' Lexa ordered. Once everyone was on their horses, Lexa nodded. ''Open the gates!'' she called out. The gates opened and they were on their way. 

They rode in formation, two warriors up front, shielding Lexa with Gustus right beside her. Behind them rode Indra and Clarke. Behind them, Anya and Lincoln and behind them Octavia and Wells, and at the end, Titus, followed by many warriors. Titus did not seem happy that he was placed at the end, but they were sorted by rank (except for the two warriors up front). The commander and her personal, most trusted guard. Then the leader of the Woods Clan and the Sky People, then two trikru warriors and sometimes advisors, followed by the _skaikru_  advisors and sometimes warriors (barely warriors, but it was a lie they told the other clans so Clarke wouldn't have to travel alone), and at the very last, Titus, the advisor and _fleimkepa_. while his role as _fleimkepa_  was important, it wasn't important for this mission. Indra had explained all this to Clarke (on the commander's orders, Indra would rather not talk to the sky girl at all).

The ride was long. It took them over half a day to reach Polis, because they had to take quite some breaks and deal with reapers on the way. Lexa had been the first to spot them, and by the time the others registered what was happening, she had already killed four. Clarke held her gun tightly as she got of the horse and she managed to injure two others. Lexa ended up killing them, too. Clarke was grateful, she wasn't sure if she would have been able to kill them, even though they were beyond saving, as Lexa had told her. Indra killed another one but then was attacked by two other reapers. Gustus was busy fighting off two others and it ended up being Octavia who saved Indra by killing the two reapers. While she seemed freaked out at the blood on her hands, she did not seem bothered by the fact that she had just killed to living beings. She simply held out a hand and helped Indra up. Later, Octavia learned that the way Indra clasped her arm was a sign of great respect. She would never admit it, but it made her feel great. 

They arrived at Polis at twilight. The guards at the gates, upon noticing their commanders, rushed to open the gates and yelled out some orders. Somewhere from behind the high gates, they could hear a horn. ''That signifies the arrival of the commander,'' Indra told Clarke. Lexa had asked her to explain as much as she could, and while she disliked the sky people, she would never defy her _heda_. ''Heda,'' the guards bowed as Lexa rode by. Clarke gasped once she passed the gates. When Lexa had told her of the capitol, she had expected more tents, nothing special, maybe a few big tents. This was nothing like that. This was a _city_. It had houses made of stone and streets and there were trading posts and multiple wells (something Wells happily pointed out) and as they rode through the city, people greeting their _heda_ , thanking her, crying, laughing, smiling, they neared a tower so high Clarke could barely see the top if it. ''That is the commander's tower. She resides in it when she is here,'' Indra said. Everyone dismounted their horses and what appeared to be stable boys took the horses away. ''The other clan leaders arrive tomorrow, I suggest you freshen up and I will pair each of you with your individual guide, to show you around the capitol and teach you some of our culture,'' Lexa said, speaking to Octavia, Wells and Clarke, who all nodded in return. ''Kira, show our guests to their rooms, please,'' Lexa said to one of the servants behind her, who dipped her head and said, _'''Sha, heda.''_

Octavia, Wells and Clarke followed Kira into the tower and were in awe at what they saw there. Guards at almost every door, rooms, people walking and children running around. It was lit by candles and torches. They entered an elevator Kira curiously glanced at them. ''Can I help you?'' Wells asked, though not unkind. Kira blushed. ''I am not supposed to bother you, it is an order, but I am curious. Did you really fall from the sky?'' she asked. Wells smiled kindly and nodded. ''We did.'' The rest of the elevator ride was spent explaining Kira what living in space was like and what coming down was like. ''This is our floor. The commander has asked for you to be on the same floor as her, for she does not fully trust the other clan leaders not to get curious or suspicious,'' Kira explained as they got out of the elevator. '' _Octavia kom skaikru_ , this is your room. _Wells kom skaikru_ , this is yours, and _Clarke kom skaikkru_ , follow me. Your room is the room next to the commander's room,'' Kira said as she led everyone to their rooms. ''Thank you,'' Clarke said, as she, too opened the door to her room. Kira bowed and then left, leaving Clarke to explore the large room. There was a huge bed in the middle of the room and Clarke ran toward it, jumping on it. ''Oh my Goooood,'' she groaned. It had been a while since she had slept on a real bed. ''I take it the room is to your liking, then?'' Clarke shot up, turning to see Lexa standing in the doorway. 

''Lex- Commander, hi,'' she said. Indra had told her that no one called Lexa by her first name unless you were truly close to her and alone with her. She felt bad upon hearing that, because she had called her Lexa more often than commander. Lexa frowned. ''When it is just the two of us you can call me Lexa. I don't mind, it is people like Titus and Indra that do. In fact, I would much rather be called Lexa than commander,'' she admitted. ''Okay, Lexa,'' Clarke smiled slightly, ''What can I do for you?'' ''I was hoping I could do something for you. I brought you this,'' Lexa said, and it was only then that Clarke noticed that she was, A: holding a little bag, and B: still standing in the doorway. ''Oh, sorry, please come in,'' Clarke said. Lexa made her way over to Clarke and handed her the bag. It has body oils and what I believe you would call shampoo. I thought you might want to freshen up. There is a bath in your bathroom, I will fill it for you,'' Lexa said. Clarke was still new to grounder culture, but she was fairly sure that it was most unbecoming of a commander to do something like that for someone else. If anything, the commander probably had many servants and maids to do those kind of things for her. Clarke did not complain, though. She simply smiled and nodded. ''Thank you, Lexa.'' ''I will leave you clean clothes, don't worry, no armor, and you can come to my room once you are ready. I'll show you around the city,'' Lexa said as she started filling the tub. ''The commander's tower is the only place with running water,'' she said, answering Clarke's unasked question. ''There, I believe this is a nice temperature. Once the bath is full, just close the tap. I will be in my room.''  

The bath managed to calm Clarke down. She was quite nervous about meeting the clan leaders. She knew not all of them were as welcoming of the _skaikru_  as Lexa had been. She just hoped they would realize that they meant no harm. Clarke quickly got dressed and braided her hair, before making her way to Lexa's room. She knocked three times and a couple of seconds later, Lexa opened the door. ''Hello, Clarke. Ready to get to know Polis?''

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa gives Clarke a tour of Polis, teaches her some things. Lexa deals with her unsolved issues with Luna and some plans are discussed up in the Ark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! I know it's bee a while but I've been crazy busy with school these past few weeks (I was failing some subjects so I had to work on that) and for some reason this chapter just wouldn't turn out the way I wanted it to. I'm still not entirely happy with how it turned out, but I hope you still enjoy it anyway :) Feel free to comment, I like knowing what y'all think of it and what you'd like to see more :)

Clarke was in awe. She had not expected such a big city. She was standing on Lexa's balcony, looking down. Polis was so different than TonDC. It was so full of life. ''As Indra already told you, this tower is the commander's tower. It is home to the commander, the ambassadors of the clans and many more people, among them my most trusted warriors and guards,'' Lexa explains. ''And Titus?'' Clarke wonders. 'Titus, too. Although, when in Polis, he is rarely ever in his room. He is usually either by my side or in the temple. We will get to that later. Shall we get going?'' Lexa asked. Clarke nodded and followed Lexa to the elevator. ''Speaking of Titus, here he comes,'' Lexa said, noticing the bald man striding toward them. ''Commander. I heard you plan to show Clarke the city? Is that wise? Perhaps you should plan what you will-'' ''Titus. I have not asked for your advice, therefore, I do not need it. While I know your intentions are good, I do not care for them. I am  _heda_. I can show around our guests whenever I please. After all, this is  _my_  city,'' Lexa interrupted him, and while she did not seem mad, her tone left no room for discussion. Titus seemed to notice, as well.  _''Sha, Heda,''_  he said, dipping his head in respect. ''Very well. Clarke, follow me.'' 

Once outside of the tower, Lexa was thinking where to go first, when she felt a tap on her thigh. She looked down and saw a little girl looking up at her, big brown eyes wide with excitement and adoration.  _''Heda!''_  she squeeled. She could not have been more than five years old. Lexa knelt down to be on the same height as the girl and smiled at her softly.  _''Hei, yongon (Hello, young one),''_ she greeted. The little girl smiled brightly and said something in rapid trigedasleng. Clarke, curious to know what they were saying, tried listening for words she might understand, but she came up empty. Lexa smiled at the girl and seemed impressed. ''Really?'' she asked. The little girl nodded.  _''Sha!_  I learn English!'' she said proudly. ''I become warrior for  _heda!_ '' she added. ''Have you been training?'' Lexa asked. The girl nodded. ''Yes! With Declan!'' she said. ''Well, I have to do something now, but how about you come to the training area later and you can show me,'' Lexa proposed, talking slowly so the young girl could follow. She nodded, grinning at Lexa like she had just given her the most precious gift in the world.  _''Leida, heda (Bye, commander)!''_  the little girl said, and with one last wave she turned aorund and ran off. 

''That was Macen. I was there when she was born. It was during war, we were short on healers and they needed someone to help. I was there,'' Lexa explained as she stood back up. ''If her brother, Declan, who has been training her, is as good a trainer as he is a student, it means she is a very promising warrior,'' she addes. ''She's a  _child_ ,'' Clarke said, seeming appalled by the idea of such young children training to fight. ''She won't be a child forever. It is important the children start their training at a young age,'' Lexa said. ''But how can she know if she wants to be a warrior? She's only five,'' Clarke asked. ''Her parents are both warriors. And almost every child has basic training. They can decide for themselves once they are old enough, but knowing a few basic fighting techniques is crucial for all of my people. They must know how to survive. Shall we get going?'' 

Clarke nods and Lexa starts walking, explaining things about the city and the people.

''That is the farmer's market. The farmers go there and trade whatever it is they harvested for whatever it is they need. Money is not a common thing here, simply because most people prefer trading over paying. A lot of people melt their coins into armor or use it for decoration, because it does not have much value here. That right there, it is the food market. Prepared food is sold and traded here. As you can see, there are many different stands. Everyone specializes in their own food. That one is my personal favorite, it is food from the sea. Would you like to try?'' Lexa asked as they neared Lexa's favorite stand. Before Clarke could respond, Lexa greeted the woman behind the stand and spoke in rapid Trigedasleng. Next thing Clarke knows, Lexa hands her a plate with the most delicious smelling food on it. Clarke had no idea what it was, but she was hungry. ''Oh my god, this is delicious.  _Mochof_ ,'' she said, directing the last word to the woman behind the stand, Cecilia. She nodded in return and handed Lexa a plate as well. 

''Does this date live up to your expectations so far?'' Lexa asked. Clarke nearly choked on her food. ''Date?'' she asked for clarification. Lexa nodded. ''Yes. I have read about dates. It is when people do something together, such as eat dinner,'' she said, not understanding why Clarke looked so freaked out. Clarke visibly calmed down at that. ''Oh. Right. A date is actually not really what you just described. I mean, a big part of it, yes, but a date is with romantic intentions,'' Clarke explained. Lexa gulped, and if it wasn't for the warpaint on her face, she was sure Clarke would have been able to see her cheeks turn red. ''Oh. My apologies, Clarke. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable. I did not mean- This is not-'' ''Relax, it's fine,'' Clarke chuckled. Lexa was still embarrassed but she decided to drop it to save herself even more embarrassment. ''What I meant to ask was if you are enjoying Polis so far,'' Lexa corrected. Clarke nodded. ''It is so different from what I expected. I didn't expect it to be so... so-'' ''Civilized?'' Lexa asked. Clarke blushed. ''Well, the world I was going for was city-like, but yeah... No offense, Le- Commander, but TonDC did not exactly seem like a modern and thriving city. I suppose I expected more tents and fires,'' Clarke admitted. ''You sky people seem to believe we are savages,'' Lexa says and there is no emotion behind her words, no anger or hurt, she was just stating a fact. ''It's because we are used to technology, on the Ark, you know. We are used to lights and electricity and whatnot,'' Clarke explains. Lexa nods, and when they both finish their meal, they get up and Lexa continues showing Clarke around. 

Polis is a beautiful city and Clarke is amazed by how alive it is. the last place they go to is the training grounds, where warriors and children alike are training, each on their respectful level. ''Heda!'' the same girl as earlier, Macen, runs toward them, wooden sword in hand.  _''Ai laik gona (I am a warrior)!''_  Macen laughs proudly.  _''Sha, Macen, you laik gona (Yes, Macen, you are a warrior),''_  Lexa agrees, placing a hand on the young girl's shoulder. ''Show me what you have learned,'' Lexa encourages and Macen nods proudly, looking at Clarke and asking, ''Are you  _skaikru_?'' Clarke nods in repsonse, '' _Sha_ , I am.'' Macen smiles at her, and grabs her hand. ''You are pretty,'' she says. Clarke smiles and thanks her. ''Thank you, Macen. So are you,'' she says. 

They spend about an hour there, Clarke watching Lexa train with Macen, teaching her what to do and what not to do, when Macen asks Lexa something. Lexa nods and stands up straight, looking at Clarke. ''Clarke,'' she says, ''Would you like to join us?'' Clarke hesitates, looks behind her, then shakes her head, because how many Clarke's are there? Of course Lexa meant her. Still, she decided to ask. ''You mean me?'' Lexa nodded. ''I do not know how to fight, though,'' Clarke said. ''Neither did I but look at me now,'' Lexa says. ''You started when you were a kid. I'm seventeen,'' Clarke says. ''Well, Titus would probaby call you a kid, so you're still a kid. Come, we will teach you,'' Lexa says, amusement in her eyes. ''Fine,'' Clarke says, rolling her eyes.

She steps onto the training ground and stands awkwardly beside Lexa. Without warning, Lexa pushes her. Clarke ends up on the ground and looks up at Lexa, who is holding her hand out to help Clarke up. ''What the fuck?'' Clarke complains. ''Your stance. You're not balanced,'' Lexa says. ''Yeah I gathered that much,'' Clarke mutters. ''Stand straight,'' Lexa orders. Clarke refrains from saying,  _But I'm not_ , and instead does as she is told. ''Feet apart a little. Yes,'' Lexa says. This time, it is Macen who pushes Clarke. She stumbles a bit, but she doesn't fall. ''See? Much better,'' Lexa says. This goes on for an hour, both Macen and Lexa helping her perfect her stance and teacher her fighting techniques. Clarke ends up on the ground more times than she'd care to admit. 

''You're enjoying this, aren't you?'' Clarke asks Lexa as she gets up from the floor once again. ''Thoroughly,'' Lexa nods. ''What about you, Macen. You like embarrassing me?'' Clarke asks. Macen waits for translation from Lexa, her English not being that good yet, before grinning mischievously and nodding. ''Yes.''

Before Lexa could teach Clarke something else, Anya runs up to them. ''Lexa, it's Luna. She arrived early,'' she says, taking in Clarke's disheveled look with an arched brow.  _''Jok (Fuck),''_  Lexa mutters, before remembering Macen and covering her ears. ''Too late. I heard,'' Macen giggles. Lexa looks conflicted and Clarke notices. ''Macen, how about you keep teaching me some more and we will leave Le- the commander to her business, yes?'' she asks the child, talking slowly. Macen nods, smiling brightly. She liked Clarke, she was funny. Lexa shot Clarke a grateful look and turned to Anya. ''Let's go. Can't be late to a family reunion,'' Anya says, guiding Lexa away from the training grounds.

*****

Meanwhile, somewhere far, far, away, a bunch of people were having a heated discussion. 

''Abby we cannot act based on this  _theory_  of yours! According to the wristbands, all of the kids are dead, and while I'd love nothing more than to believe that this was simply an act of rebellion, taking the wristbands off, it is merely a theory. My kid is down there, too. And believe me, I hope you are right, but we cannot risk the lives of all of our people, simply because we  _hope_  that they are not dead,'' Thelonius Jaha spoke. Abby Griffin sighed, ''Don't you see, Marcus? They will die either way! We will die if we stay here, that's for sure. So why not risk it? Why not go to earth?'' 

No one seemed to care about the guy cleaning in the back, until he spoke up. ''My sister is down there. Octavia. I can go. Let me go. I will be in touch with you, just hook me up with a radio. I can tell you if they are alive or not, if the earth is inhabitable,'' Bellamy Blake said. The council looked at the boy, before looking at each other. ''Son, it is extremely dangerous,'' Jaha began. ''I don't care. I have nothing to live for. All I have is my sister, down there. Please, I'm begging you.'' The council looked at each other, assessing the situation, before coming to a silent agreement. ''Come sit with us, son. We will go through everything with you.''

*****

Lexa would never admit it, but she was nervous. She knew she would have to face her sister sooner rather than later, but she didn't think it'd be  _this_  soon. She had hoped for one night of fun, or as much fun as a commander could ever have. She was having fun, watching Clarke fall again and again and again. But then Luna came earlier. Lexa should have known. Of course she would be early, it was Luna. She was always early. ''Do you want me there? As a guard?'' Anya asked. Lexa nodded. ''You, Gustus and Indra. You are the only three I trust not to tell anyone about the conversation,'' she said. They still had about a five minute walk, so Anya decided to distract Lexa a little. ''So, you were having fun kicking Clarke's ass?'' she asked. Lexa frowned. ''I was not kicking her butt, that would be rude. I was simply teaching her how to fight,'' she said. Anya laughed. 

''It's a sky person expression. I picked it up. It means defeating someone, or something,'' she said. ''Ah. In that case, yes. I was enjoying it,'' Lexa said. ''She's quite something, huh?'' Anya asked, grinning smugly. ''What do you mean?'' Lexa asked. ''Fucking hell could you be any more oblivious. She's hot, huh? You find her attractive,'' Anya asked. ''She is a very beautiful girl,'' was all Lexa said. ''C'mon, Lex. Just admit it, you like her. And I mean  _like_  like,'' Anya said. ''Love is weakness,'' Lexa said. ''That didn't answer my question. And it's bullshit,'' Anya said. ''Let it go, Anya. I am  _heda_. It does not matter what I want,'' Lexa said, and in that moment she seemed so defeated that all Anya wanted to do was hug her, like she had done when Lexa was still a little girl, hung up over Costia. But she could not do that. Lexa did not have the luxury of allowing herself to love and be loved. Titus made damn sure she knew that, too. Anya hated Titus. He took this loving, compassionate girl and turned her into a girl who was not allowed to love, who was scared of letting people too close. Anya knew the commander had people who would do anything for their  _heda_ , who loved their commander, but Lexa, God, Lexa was so alone. It killed Anya to see the girl she considered a sister so lonely. 

''Here goes nothing,'' Lexa muttered, snapping Anya out of her thoughts of a little Lexa with braids bouncing as she ran around happily.  _What happened to her?_  Anya thought to herself, but she already knew the answer.  _Titus happened. This world happened._  ''Relax, Indra, Gustus and I will be right there,'' Anya said as they approached the door to the throne room, where Luna was presumably waiting. Gustus and Indra were waiting outside of the throne room and both nodded when they heard Lexa's words. Gustus opened the door to the throne room and walked in before Lexa, who was followed by Indra and Anya. ''Luna,'' Lexa said, grateful that her voice did not betray her nerves. The woman in front of the window turned around and Lexa felt comforted by the fact that, although everything was different now, Luna's hair was still the same mess of curly hair, that her eyes were still the same calming brown, that she was still so much like Luna, Lexa's sister, rather than Luna, leader of  _Floukru_.  _''Heda,''_ Luna hissed. It hurt that she would not call Lexa by her name, but Lexa did not show any emotion on her face. 

''I have made peace with the Sky people.'' Lexa wasn't sure why that was the first thing she told Luna. Maybe she wanted to show Luna that she wasn't a cold-blooded murderer, like Luna thought. Or maybe she just didn't know what to say to the girl she once shared everything with and now didn't even know. ''Good for them. We all know it is better to keep you as a friend rather than an enemy,'' Luna spat. ''Luna...'' Lexa sighed, the turned to Anya, Indra and Gustus. ''Leave us, please.'' Indra looked appalled at the idea of having to leave her commander, but Gustus placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her toward the door. ''If you need us, we're right outside. Just call for us,'' Anya said, before following Gustus and Indra. 

Lexa turned her attention back to Luna, who seemed to be focussing her attention on anyhting  _but_  Lexa. ''Luna, we have to talk. We cannot expect to be good leaders if we cannot address what happened and move past it,'' Lexa said. ''Move past it? Seriously, Lexa? You  _killed_  our parents!'' Luna exclaimed. ''Do you think that was easy for me? Because trust me, it wasn't. To this day, it still haunts me. I have never and will never forgive myself, but it had to be done, or I would not be acknowledged as  _heda_  and they would have killed you, too,'' Lexa said, eerily calm, as if the situation did not affect her at all. It did. ''I'd rather it were you that died,'' Luna hissed. ''I sometimes want the same,'' Lexa muttered underneath her breath, but Luna heard. ''You want me to feel sorry for you?'' she asked, chuckling sarcastically. ''Luna, stop. Pick your battles. Which one are we fighting today?'' Lexa asked, feeling suddenly exhausted. ''Don't act like the victim, Lexa. You're the one who gained from all this,'' Luna said angrily. That was what it took for Lexa to snap. 

'' _Gained?_ You think I  _gained_ from all this? Do you think I wanted to be  _heda_? Do you think I wanted to be the leader of our people, to carry their burdens, to carry the weight of a thousand deaths? You think I  _asked_  for all of this? Do you honestly think I wanted to be lonely? From day one I have been told over and over again that love is weakness and that to be commander is to be alone, and I never listened, but turns out Titus was right, because the one girl who loved me for  _me_ , not for  _heda_ , died! Azgeda cut off Costia's head and delivered it to my bed, and still, I let them into my alliance, because all I wanted was peace. For my people, for you, for Costia. I never wanted to be commander, but when I became  _heda_ , I thought, whatever is best for my people, because that is what is best for you, for our future generations, for the world, for the little girls like me who were forced into commandership when all they wanted was to learn how to braid hair the way their sisters could. And then I had to do the most difficult thing one can do, kill your own family, and the one person I had left abandoned me! Do you think it was easy for me? I cried myself to sleep every night until I could no longer cry, until Titus' words started to get to me, until I realized that to be commander was, indeed, to be alone. I am alone,'' Lexa was shouting now, tears threatening to spill, but she would not cry. Not here, not now, not with Luna. She could not know she was weak. She turned around, red sash flowing behind her as she marched toward the door.

''Lexa, wait,'' Luna called out. Lexa hesitated, then turned around, meeting Luna's eyes with a glare that would scare the strongest warrior. ''You- You didn't want it? You didn't want to become  _heda_?'' Luna asked, frowning in confusion. Lexa scoffs, ''Of course not.'' ''But- When we found out you were a  _natblida_ , you were so excited,'' Luna says. ''Luna, I was an infant. I did not fully grasp the meaning of having nightblood. I was glad to finally be a part of something. You know the other children hated me. They were scared of me. I was glad to finally know my purpose, to rub it in those children's faces that I could one day become their  _heda_. But- Then  _heda_  was killed and I was forced to kill my friends. The people I had grown up with. The people I had trained with. And I realized that I did not want it. I did not want to be  _heda_. Which was exactly why I had to be  _heda_. To make this world a better place, so that the  _natblidas_  after me did not have to be brought up in a world that cruel. But I did not want it. I still don't,'' Lexa confesses. ''I aways thought you  _wanted_  it. That you killed our parents for your own sake. I- I don't know what to say, if I'm honest,'' Luna admits. ''I suppose you thought it easier to judge me, rather than understand me. Not the product of a strong mind,'' Lexa said. Luna sighed, ''I know. I'm sorry, Lexa. I truly am. If I am honest, I suppose I knew all along there was another reason, I just did not want to face it. I did not want to justify you killing our parents. But I get it now. I do. I am truly sorry.''

Lexa looked her sister in the eyes and sighed. She was never one to hold a grudge, and she understood Luna. Of course she understood. All she wanted was that Luna understood her as well. And she showed that she did. Or at least tried to understand her. So Lexa nodded, and said, ''I forgive you. I am sorry, too.''

Luna awkwardly stepped forward. ''Hug? Or is that something you don't do as  _heda_?'' she asked tentatively. Lexa's mouth formed into a small smile. ''I am still your sister,'' she said as she allowed herself to be hugged by her sister. ''Always.''


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa and Clarke discuss Luna, Luna and Titus have a chat, a meeting takes place and an uninvited guest shows up at the meeting. Two people make their way down to Earth.

_This is stupid,_  Lexa kept telling herself.  _Why would you come here to tell her about your conversation with your sister? It is not like she cares._  But that was a lie. Lexa knew Clarke cared. Clarke cared for everyone. Still, standing here in front of Clarke's bedroom, Lexa suddenly felt silly. For some reason, after the conversation with her sister, she had made her way to Clarke's bedroom. Lexa wasn't sure why, but for some reason, she wanted to see the blonde, tell her about the conversation with her sister. Before Lexa could change her mind, a voice broke through her thoughts. ''Lexa?'' Clarke asked. Lexa turned around and saw Clarke walking up to her. ''Sorry, I was eating dinner with Octavia and Wells. I hope I didn't keep you waiting. Is everything okay? Why are you here?'' Clarke asked.  _Why am I here? Good question,_  Lexa thought to herself.

''Clarke, yes, hello. My apologies. I don't quite know why I am here. You haven't kept me waiting, I haven't even knocked yet,'' Lexa tries to explain, feeling even sillier saying it out loud. Clarke offers a small smile and opens the door to her bedroom, stepping aside. ''Come in,'' she says, holding the door open for Lexa and waiting for the older girl to enter before doing so herself. Lexa feels the need to explain herself, so she tries again. ''For some reason, I felt like coming to you after the conversation with my sister. I do not quite know why, and it is unbecoming of a commander to talk about her issues to anyone but her  _fleimkepa_  and advisors, but here I am,'' she rambles. Clarke smiles. ''Here you are,'' she says. ''Wanna talk about it? About your conversation with Luna?'' ''I do not want to be a burden,'' Lexa says. ''Bullshit. Come, sit down,'' Clarke says, sitting down on her bed and patting the spot next to her. Lexa did not really know what 'bullshit' meant, but she'd hate to feel even sillier than she already did, so she decided not to ask.

''She was really mad, she said some things that in turn angered me and then I felt the need to explain myself. So I did. And she understood. And she apologized. And I did, too,'' Lexa says. Clarke waits for a more in-depth version of the story, but it doesn't come. ''Just like that?'' she asked. ''What do you mean?'' Lexa asked. ''Well, to me, it seems like Luna was very quick to judge you. She was quick to hate you the second you killed your parents, and now she forgives you, just like that, and you forgive her, just like that?'' Clarke asks. Lexa frowns. ''Should I not have forgiven her? She did nothing wrong,'' she asks. ''What I'm saying is, I think you've forgiven her a little too soon. She comes back out of the blue, a day early, after hating you for years, and forgives you after an hour long conversation. I truly don't want to hurt your feelings, I know she's your sister and the only family you have left, but she tried to  _kill_  you over this, and now she has forgiven you, just like that? It seems a little sketchy to me. Also, she gave me the  _acefaya_  a while back, claiming I was on dangerous territories, by which she meant your land. I don't doubt your ability to convince people, but getting Luna to forgive you after one conversation, while the hatred was rooted so deeply within her at first seems a little unrealistic to me,'' Clarke tries to explain. Lexa frowns and sighs. ''I suppose you are right. It makes sense, what you are saying. I just craved family, I craved to have something of my old life back, I suppose. That does not make me weak, does it?'' Lexa asks. Clarke shakes her head. ''No, not at all. It makes perfect sense,'' she says. ''What do you miss? From your old life among the stars,'' Lexa asks. Clarke thinks about that question for a while, before answering. ''The same as you. Family,'' she says. ''What happened to your family? I share quite a lot of my life with you, while you share nothing about yours with me,'' Lexa says. 

''Well, okay. So, of course, you know my Dream showed me on the Earth. Before I had my Dream, everything was good. Not great, far from great, but it was good. I had friends, Octavia and Wells, and my mom and dad were happy and it was good. But then I had my Dream, and it showed me on the ground. You were in it, too. But I'll get to that later. In my Dream, It became apparent that the Ark was dying. Running out of oxygen, with six months left at most. I confronted my dad about it, he was an engineer, and he told me it was true. I told him not to tell my mother, because in my Dream it also became clear that it was my mother who told the chancellor of my father's plans to tell the people of the Ark. He thought they deserved to know, as did I. But my mother betrayed us and told the chancellor and then my father had to be floated. My mother essentially killed my father. Then, I met Raven. Together with Raven, I managed to continue my father's plans and broadcasted a video, that's kind of like a moving photograph with sound, in which he explained that the Ark was dying. It got us both imprisoned. To save oxygen, they sent us, the  _skaikru_ , to the ground. Also to see if the Earth was inhabitable. They gave us wristbands, that would let them know whether we were still alive or not. But we don't want them to come down here and ruin it all. So we took of our wristbands, to make them think we're dead. And- holy fuck. This was it. This was my Dream. My Dream showed me telling you this,'' Clarke said, blinking in surprise and staring at Lexa in awe. ''I hope I did not disappoint,'' Lexa said, repeating what Clarke said to her the moment she experienced the moment of her Dream. Clarke grinned. ''Not at all,'' she said, looking Lexa in the eyes. She was overcome by the sudden urge to kiss the older girl.  _No,_ Clarke scolded herself,  _she's commander, she said to be commander is to be alone._ Clarke stood up and turned to Lexa, who was looking up at her in confusion. 

''Sorry, Lexa, but I am exhausted. It was a long ride to Polis and the day has been very tiring,'' Clarke said. Lexa nodded and stood up quickly. ''I apologize, Clarke. I did not mean to keep you up. I am sorry,'' she said, seeming genuinely concerned. ''It's fine, Lexa. It was meant to be this way, anyway, or else I wouldn't have experienced my Dream,'' Clarke assured Lexa. Lexa nodded, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. ''Goodnight,  _skai prisa_ ,'' she said.  _''Reshop, heda (Goodnight, commander),''_  Clarke said, grinning when she saw the look on Lexa's face. ''Macen taught me,'' Clarke explained. Lexa smiled and with a final look over her shoulder, she left the room, making her way to her own. 

*****

On the other side of Polis, a bald headed man frowned as he laid eyes upon the girl before him.  _''Natrona (Traitor),''_  he spat at her. Luna sighed. She had heard that word quite a lot, it meant nothing to her. ''I think you and I both know who the true  _natrona_  is here, Titus, and it isn't me,'' she told the  _fleimkepa_. She walked around him and entered the temple. Titus turned around and glared at Luna. ''This is a sacred place. You have no right to be here,'' he said. ''Lexa thinks herself a saint. She thinks that she has a justifiable reason for killing our parents. Our parents who, may I remind you, helped you out of the mess you got yourself into with the last commander,'' Luna continued. ''The last commander would have had me killed if he knew I hid you from him. It is the rule that every  _natblida_  is brought to Polis once they are found. Your parents owed me. I never asked for them to kill the commander, I asked them to  _help_ me. Lexa did what was expected of her, she did what she had to do, in order to protect you. If word got out that you are a  _natblida_ , who knows what would happen. They might kill both you and Lexa, or only you, or, and God forbid that happens, demand a second conclave. Between you and Lexa, the last of your generation of  _natblidas_. I have seen Lexa fight. You would not stand a chance against her,'' Titus said. ''Perhaps not in a fight. But I believe Lexa has a new weakness, and I think you know who I mean,'' Luna says, eyeing Titus. 

''Clarke of the Sky People,'' Titus spat. ''I take it you are not particularly fond of her, then?'' Luna asks, sensing the hatred with which Titus said Clarke's name. ''She is a distraction, she is not fit to lead, and she and her people are a danger to us all. If Lexa wasn't so fond of her, she would see that,'' Titus growled. ''Like I said, she is Lexa's new weakness. I may not be able to defeat Lexa in combat, but if I eliminate Clarke, we both get what we want. You get your stoic, heartless commander back, and I can hurt Lexa, get revenge for what she did, without my true colors showing themselves,'' Luna explained, making eye contact with Titus when she said 'true colors'. Titus knew she meant the color of her blood. It was the reason Luna swore to never kill again. No killing meant no fights, which meant that no blood would be spilled. No one would know Luna was a  _natblida._

''How do you plan to kill the sky girl?'' Titus asked. ''I'll find a way. All you have to do is keep the commander busy long enough for me to be able to get Clarke alone,'' Luna said. ''Consider it done,'' Titus replied, nodding at Luna. ''Very well. Good night, Titus,'' Luna said, before turning around and leaving the temple. 

*****

All clan leaders sat in their respective seats, with the symbol of their clan on it. They had noticed the extra chair, the one that did not have a symbol yet, and when the blonde girl, with the blue jacket and odd clothes walked in, their suspicions were confirmed. ''The  _skai prisa_ ,'' Luna whispered to Khanis, leader of the Sankru, the desert clan. His already hard looking face hardened, and he glared at the girl. She was change, and change was something Khanis did not deal with very well. ''I know,'' he grunted. Clarke sat down, seemingly unperturbed by the glares she received. ''Not only is she late, she will not greet us,'' a woman with white markings on her face spoke, a mocking grin on her face. 

''Not only is her presence unwanted, she is also speaking out of line.''

All the clan leaders hurriedly stood up upon hearing their commander's voice.  _''Heda,''_  they all said in unison. ''Do you have an answer for me,  _Nia kom Azgeda_?'' Lexa said, hand on the hilt of her sword as she stepped down the platform her throne was on and neared the leader of the Ice Nation. ''Well, I got notice that the clan leaders were called upon,'' Nia replied. ''And tell me something, Nia. Were you among those called upon?'' Lexa continued to ask. ''Well,'' Nia started, looking for the right answer. ''I believe I know the answer to that. It is 'no'. I remember specifically choosing not to invite you to this meeting,'' Lexa spoke, face betraying no emotion, but her voice dripping with anger. ''Tell me something, Nia. Is there a reason you saw yourself fit to defy the commander's order not to have you hear? Or is this another act of stupidity on your behalf?'' she continued. ''Well, the thing is, commander, I appear to have lost two of my scouts,'' Nia said. ''Scouts? Let me freshen up your English, Nia, I believe the word you're looking for is spies,'' Lexa said. ''Ah, scouts, spies, they are so alike, are they not?'' ''Yes, they sure are. Especially if they are siblings. So alike,'' Lexa said mockingly. ''Permission to talk freely,  _heda_ ,'' Nia requested. ''Permission denied. As is your permission to be here any longer. You defied a direct order of your commander. You realize what that could mean for you, do you not, Nia? Does anyone here know what follows after you defy your  _heda_?'' Lexa asked, addressing everyone present. ''Death,'' Luna spoke. Lexa noticed the way Luna eyed Clarke as she said the word, and made a mental note to get extra guards to protect the blonde. ''Indeed. Nia, the punishment for what you did is death. But, since I am not done with you yet, I will have you locked up for now. Remember, though, that death is still coming,'' Lexa said, her eyes boring into Nia's as two guards came to drag the older woman away. 

Once she was out of the room, Lexa turned and walked back to her throne. She sat down and looked at the clan leaders. ''Sit,'' she ordered. ''First of all, anyone who disrespects the  _skaikru_ , disrespects a treaty I have made with them and in turn disrespects me. As you know, defying the commander's orders means death,'' she spoke, with such authority in her voice that no one dared to move. ''Second, and the true reason I have called for this meeting, are two people I am sure you have all have heard the names of, by now. Faie and Mikas. You know of the rumors that  _Azgeda_  found two  _Maunon_  children and took them in. I am here to inform you that those rumors are true. Some nights ago, at the feast, there was shooting, as those of you who were present, know. Contrary to what some of you might believe, it was not the  _Skaikru_  who fired, it was Faie and Mikas. Faie has been captured, but Mikas has gotten away. His whereabouts are currently unknown, Faie is held captive. I urge you to keep your eye out for Mikas, although we do not know what he looks like. I believe that he was wearing female clothes, since they stole those from Clarke's tent,'' Lexa spoke, looking every leader in the eyes. 

Khanis stood up, and Lexa nodded, granting him permission to speak. ''How do we know that Faie and Mikas are not working with the  _Skaikru_?'' he asked, glaring at Clarke. ''The answer to that question is rather simple and I am quite disappointed in you for having to ask that. We know that they are not working for  _Skaikru_ , because the rumors about them started spreading  _before_  the  _Skaikru_  landed. Seriously, Khanis, your stupidity disappoints me,'' Lexa replied, sounding rather bored, and Khanis sat back down, face beet red. 

''Now, while the shooting is definitely something we have to look into, there is a more urgent, more dangerous meaning behind all this. Faie and Mikas show us that the  _Maunon_  have found a way to live on the ground. This makes them even more dangerous than they already were. Another pressing matter is the fact that  _Azgeda_  has taken them in and made them into spies. This does not honor the coalition and is to be seen as a direct threat to all of the clans, meaning that if you see an  _Azgeda_ warrior or scout where they are not supposed to be, you have permission to kill. Now, I have already ordered my guards to keep an eye out for anything the  _Maunon_  do, they are to report back to me, I order you to do the same. Notify your guards, scouts, hunters, everyone, to keep an eye out for the  _Maunon_  and  _Azgeda,_ '' Lexa ordered. The clan leaders nodded, some looking around nervously. ''Speak now if you wish,'' Lexa said. Clarke stood up. Some of the clan leaders looked at her curiously, others with disdain. ''Yes,  _Klark kom Skaikru_ ,'' Lexa said, nodding at her to talk. ''Well, my people have technology. We could use that to stay in touch, it would make reporting anything out of the ordinary easier and faster. Perhaps that could help?'' Clarke offered. Lexa nodded. ''Yes, I believe that would be very useful, thank you. When would you be able to get that for us?'' Lexa asked. ''Well, I was thinking of a radio, for which we would need the technology back at our camp, along with whatever you have. Technology is not my specialty, but I have some people in mind who could look into that. One of them was shot, though, so she is not very mobile at the moment. We would have to bring the tech to her in TonDC,'' Clarke answered. Lexa nodded. ''Very well, we can work that out.  _Mochof,_ Clarke _._ Anyone else have something to say?'' she asked. Luna stood up. ''Yes,  _Luna kom Floukru_ , speak,'' Lexa acknowledged. ''What do the Sky People want in return for their technology, Clarke?'' she asked. ''See it as a thank you for not killing us,'' Clarke asked, earning some chuckles. ''If no one else has something to say, I hereby dismiss you,'' Lexa said, and when no one else stood up to talk, she raised her hand and waved the clan leaders off. 

*****

''Abby, this will be fine.'' ''I know, but what if it won't? I still don't understand why you're going with him,'' Abby protested. Jacapo Sinclair sighed. ''I told you. He has no idea how to operate the spacecraft. He needs someone with knowledge of it to go with him,'' he explained. ''I know, but why  _you_?'' ''Because I am the best at what I do, and if the 100 really are dead, then I am the only one who can radio back to you in case the radio breaks. He needs me, and the Ark needs me. I have to go. Like, seriously, right now. Everything is set and ready to go and every second I am here is a waste of time,'' Sinclair said, checking his watch as if to make a point. Abby sighed. ''I know. I know. If they're still alive, if Clarke is still alive, tell her I love her, okay?'' she asked. Sinclair smiled at her and nodded. ''Will do. I promise.'' ''Take care. May we meet again,'' Abby said, hugging Sinclair. They had grown up together and he was one of Jake's close friends. It felt like she was saying goodbye to yet another part of her past. Soon, she feared, there would be nothing left. ''May we meet again,'' Sinclair said, before turning around and making his way to the launch area of the Ark. 

He greeted Marcus Kane and Thelonius Jaha, before putting on his suit and taking his place next to Bellamy. He greeted him as well, noticing how at ease the boy seemed, before starting the take-off procedure. 

A few minutes later, the automatic voice initiated countdown.

_''10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1.''_

The spacecraft shook with the force of the launch, but calmed down after a bit. ''Welcome to nothing, kid,'' Sinclair said, glancing at Bellamy, who was gripping his chair as if his life depended on it. ''First flight?'' Sinclair joked. ''What gave it away?'' Bellamy asked, trying to grin despite the obvious discomfort on his face. ''If you're gonna be sick, that'd really suck, 'specially for you, you know. You're kind of in a fishbowl right now, it'd just splash around in there,'' Sinclair said, grimacing at the thought. ''Don't worry, sir. Just anxious to see my sister,'' Bellamy said. ''You'll see her soon, son. Very soon.''

*****

''Did you see that? What was that?'' ''A star! A shooting star!'' ''Maybe it is more  _skaikru_! They're planning to take over our land!'' 

The streets of Polis were crowded, everyone exited their houses and shops to see what the brightly blazing object in the sky was. Lexa spotted Clarke among those people and marched over, Indra hot on her heels. ''Clarke! What is the meaning of this?'' she asked. ''Like I know. It is coming from the Ark, that's for sure. Why would I know?'' she asked, a little offended that Lexa seemed to think she had something to do with it. ''Well, it is coming from your people, you said it yourself,'' Indra said. Clarke glared at her. ''They stopped being my people the second they sent me down here to die,'' she hissed, before turning on her heels and walking away. She looked for Octavia, and found her with Wells. ''Fucking Lexa,'' Clarke grumbled. ''You are?'' Octavia teased. ''Shut up. She thinks I, or we, had something to do with this, that we plan to take over their fucking land or something. Because, quote, 'it came from my people'. Fucking bullshit. I fucking told her about the fucking wristbands and how we took them off so that they would think we're dead and not come down here. The situation up there must be pretty fucking desperate for them to come down here anyway. Seriously, she barely unlocked my tragic backstory and now she accuses me of knowing anything about this,'' Clarke said, waving her hands around frustratedly. 

''I apologize, Clarke. I was merely concerned for the well-being of my people and figured that if anyone knew more about the moving light, it would be you.'' 

Clarke turned around and met Lexa's worried eyes. An image of a tiny Lexa flashed through her mind, sitting on her throne for the first time, realizing that from now on, all of the people were  _her_  people,  _her_  responsibility, and Clarke sighed, relaxing. ''It's fine. I know, I understand. I am just as clueless as you, though,'' she said. Lexa nodded, and joined her sight, looking at the rapidly nearing object. ''Clarke, since they are, sorry,  _were_  your people, I feel like you know them best. You and I will ride out to where it lands together. Just you and I. I do not believe they are a great threat, since I remember the state your people were in when you just landed, so I believe we will not need guards. Of course, if you do not feel comfortable being with me alone, you are welcome to bring someone,'' Lexa said. ''No, it's fine. We'll go as soon as it lands,'' Clarke said. Octavia cleared her throat. '' _Heda,_  permission to speak?'' she asked. ''Speak freely,'' Lexa said, nodding. ''I- I know it is not a rational thought, but- what if it is someone I know? Like, for instance, my brother? He dreamed that he would be on the ground, a well, so there is a slight chance. I was wondering if I was allowed to accompany the two of you?'' she asked, seeming very nervous and not daring to look the commander in the eyes. ''No. I am sorry, Octavia of the Sky People, but if it is indeed your brother, you might not see him as a threat, even though he might be one. It is important that you recognize a threat when you see one, and I fear that your emotions will cloud your rationality upon laying eyes on him. So no. But if it is your brother, you will be the first to be notified, you have my word,'' Lexa said, seeming honestly sorry. Octavia nodded. ''I understand,'' she said, albeit a little disappointed.

Just as Clarke was about to complain about how long it took, people started yelling. ''It has landed! I think it is close to the river!'' ''No, closer to the  _Maunon_ , I am sure!'' ''No, I think it landed on my crops! It ruined my crops!''

''Commander? Do we leave now?'' Clarke asked. ''No, I am waiting for someone to report the exact location,'' Lexa said.

Before more speculations of where the spacecraft could have landed arose, a guard ran up to the commander. ''Anya says it landed in the big lake, north of the Old House. She could see it land, from the highest floor of the tower, she used the telescope, so it is accurate,'' he said, a little out of breath. '' _Mochof_. Clarke, let's go,'' Lexa said, and with a final goodbye to her friends, Clarke followed her to the stables, where the horses had been readied. Lexa made a mental note to thank Indra, who had most likely given the order. ''Open the gates!'' she called out as they neared the gates. Clarke shuffled a little in her seat, riding a horse was still very uncomfortable. Lexa noticed and grinned. ''Don't even dare laugh at me, this is my second real trip on a horse,'' Clarke said, trying to sound commanding, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face. ''You are right, my apologies, Clarke,'' Lexa said, sounding honestly apologetic. ''Relax, don't worry about it. I was kidding, for the most part. Why are you always so serious and formal?'' Clarke asked, still smiling. ''It's what I was trained to be. I am used to not being, how would you say it... casual. Yes, casual. From day one of my training as a  _natblida_ , I was trained to forget all about being casual,'' Lexa explained. ''Well, you can be casual with me. I'd like to see just Lexa, not Commander Lexa,'' Clarke said, hoping it would make Lexa feel more at ease. ''I am afraid I have forgotten how to be  _just_ Lexa,'' Lexa said in a small voice. She hated herself for not being 'casual', because she knew that Clarke probably liked casual Lexa better than formal Lexa. ''I'll help you remember,'' Clarke promised.  _Don't make promises you cannot keep_ , Lexa thought to herself, but she nodded, sent Clarke a small and grateful smile and hoped that Clarke could keep the promise. She'd like to meet just Lexa. After all, it had been so many years. 

*****

Lexa had expected some sort of commotion, things to be awfully out of place, she had expected chaos, but upon arriving at the lake, several hours later, the only thing different was the odd... thing. What did the  _skaikru_  call it again? Space boat? Lexa wasn't sure. ''Where are your people- sorry, old people? There cannot be many people in a space boat that tiny,'' Lexa wondered. Clarke frowned, seeming to have thought the same thing. ''It could be suicide by earth,'' she said. She had heard about it. About twenty years ago someone has committed suicide by earth. He had gotten into a spaceship, more like a little pod, and launched himself to Earth. The confined space of the Ark had driven the poor man crazy, he could no longer bear it. Lexa dismounted her horse and Clarke followed. ''It is still closed. I don't think anyone has gotten out yet,'' she said. Lexa nodded and slowly made her way over to the water. She dipped her sword in it, to see how deep the water was, and after deciding it was shallow enough to walk, she carefully walked into the lake. Clarke followed her, but took off her jacket first. She had not learned how to swim yet, so she figured not to be dressed too heavily would be the safest option. ''Do you know how to open it?'' Lexa asked. ''I'm sure I'll figure it out,'' Clarke replied. Before they could come any closer, they heard the rustling of leaves. Lexa turned around, facing the woods they had just come out of, sword ready to fight. More leaves rustled, before a thud was heard, followed by a splash.

''Calm down, calm down, it is just us! I didn't expect the water to be right  _there._ ''

''Monty? Jesus Christ, you scared the fucking hell out of me, fucking asshole,'' Clarke cursed. Lexa's eyes widened and she couldn't help but smirk. ''Who knew the  _skai prisa_  knew such foul language?'' she teased. ''You'll shit yourself when you hear what else she's got in store for you, Commander.'' Clarke was too preoccupied with who just said that to even care about what was said. ''Raven! Rae, oh my god, how are you? You shouldn't be out of bed yet! Who authorized this?'' she said, rushing over to her friend. ''Calm down, I didn't walk, this big boy carried me all the way, he only just put me down,'' Raven said, pointing at Nyko who was standing behind her. ''Nyko? What is the meaning of this?'' Lexa asked. ''Well, she was unfit to walk long distances, so I thought carrying her would-'' ''No, I mean, this unauthorized mission,'' Lexa said. she did not seem mad, just curious and wary. ''Ah, well, Gustus authorized it, as acting head of Trikru while Indra is in Polis. He said it might be worth checking out, and these two seem to know a lot about the space thing, so he sent them and me to go along with them. As protection, and to carry Little Bird,'' Nyko explained. ''Look, as great as this little reunion is, we should get to saving whoever is inside the pod,'' Raven said. ''Nyko, carry me to the pod,'' she added. Nyko bent down and easily lifted Raven, making sure not to cause any harm to the wound. ''And to answer your question, Princess, I am fine, but we'll chat later. It is an old Russian model. There must be at least one person inside with advanced knowledge of spaceships, then,'' she said. Monty nodded, following them, walking a little faster. 

''Can you open it?'' Lexa asked him when they reached the pod, gently holding Clarke by the arm. They were chest deep in the water by now, and Lexa could tell the blonde was not at ease. ''Easy,'' Monty said. Then he frowned. ''Okay wait, hold that thought, the door is damaged. It is still easy, as long as the wires have not come in contact with water yet,'' he said. Lexa trusted that he, or Raven, could get it open, and focused her attention on Clarke. ''Do you know how to swim?'' she asked her. Clarke shook her head, blushing. ''That is okay and understandable, no need to be ashamed. You just landed here, and you do not have water in space, so I am not surprised. Would you like me to teach you one day?'' Lexa asked. Clarke nodded. ''That would be great, but I feel as if you are doing all the teaching, you're constantly helping me, and I'm not doing anything valuable,'' she said. ''I disagree. You are very valuable, Clarke. You have got technology. And besides, I do this without expecting something in return. The clan leaders and Titus might disagree with me on that, but I do not care. I am  _heda_ , and they are all my subjects. I will do what I want,'' Lexa said. Clarke smiled at her. She wanted to hug her, but something told her Lexa would not appreciate that, especially not in front of people.

''Open!'' Monty exclaimed cheerfully as the door of the pod opened. The pod had crashed on its side, the door was now on the top of the crashed ship. He started climbing up the pos and with a grunt, he managed to lift the door. ''Well? Who is it?'' Raven asked. ''Jacapo Sinclair and Bellamy Blake,'' Monty said. ''Sinclair?'' Raven exclaimed happily. Monty nodded, sharing the same happiness. They were both very close to Sinclair. ''I need help to get them out,'' Monty called. Lexa was on it in a second, skillfully climbing up and then inside the pod. ''They are both unconscious,'' she called out. ''Nyko! Leave the sky girl on the shore, I will need your help to take the men out of the pod,'' she ordered as she realized the door was above her and she would be able to carry neither the younger boy nor the older man out on her own. A minute passed and then Nyko's face appeared. He reached down as Lexa hoisted Bellamy up. He was heavy, but Lexa had carried heavier things and people. She was strong. Nyko took Bellamy from Lexa and carried him out of the pod. ''Monty, take him to shore,'' Nyko requested. Monty obeyed, taking Bellamy from Nyko and swinging his arm over his shoulders, dragging him through the water. Clarke quickly moved to help him as Lexa hoisted Sinclair up. Nyko took him from Lexa and carefully stepped back into the water. Lexa climbed out of the pod and slid into the water as well, making her way to the shore. 

''What now?'' Clarke asked.

''Now we wait until they wake up,'' Lexa replied.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the last chapter someone commented something about not trusting Luna and how they thought the forgiving was a little fast, but then deleted that comment, all I wanted to say was, look, you were right ;)


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